State asks 8800 commercial drivers’ license holders to prove citizenship, legal immigration status

The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security is requiring about 8,800 commercial drivers’ license holders to provide in-person proof of citizenship or lawful permanent residence by April 6, department officials told lawmakers Wednesday.

The requirement aligns with the directives by the Trump administration that target non-citizen commercial drivers.

In April, the president issued an executive order mandating English proficiency requirements for commercial licenses. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in June announced a nationwide audit of states that issue commercial licenses to non-state residents. Tennessee law does not permit those who are not residents of Tennessee to obtain commercial licenses.

In August, the State Department paused work visas for non-U.S. residents seeking to fill the demand for truck drivers. Then, in September, the federal government announced it was fast-tracking a new rule that would revoke the existing licenses of immigrants with a variety of temporary legal statuses.

Russell Shoup, assistant commissioner for the Department of Safety and Homeland Security, said his agency had audited its records following Trump’s executive order, finding that 8,800 of Tennessee’s 150,000 commercial license holders did not have proof of citizenship or lawful permanent residence in their files. 

State law already requires that applicants provide proof of their citizenship or immigration status. Shoup said that the 8,800 drivers likely showed proof to obtain their license, but prior to 2001 state officials did not hold onto the documentation.

“Before 2001 we were asking for that documentation but we didn’t necessarily have it in our files,” he said. 

Letters went out earlier this month notifying affected drivers, he said. About 1,000 drivers have already brought in their documentation, he said. 

Shoup said commercial drivers who come to state motor vehicle offices to provide documentation will be moved to the front of the line. 

“We know this is an inconvenience,” he said.