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Keeping Families Together in
Tennessee and Beyond
40 immigration-related bills are in the Tennessee legislature that jeopardize critical public services from faith-based organizations and force ordinary citizens to act as immigration enforcement by expanding verification requirements. For Christians, these developments raise important questions about responsibility, justice, and care for the vulnerable. Thoughtful, informed engagement will be essential in the days ahead.
Tennessee has become a testing ground for legislation crafted by leaders in the federal government. Of the 40 bills in the Tennessee Legislature, eight of them were proposed in January following a visit by key state legislators to the White House, where they met with Deputy Chief of Staff and Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller.
If these bills pass in Tennessee, other states will rush to adopt the same measures.
Christian resistance is key to stopping these problematic bills from spreading throughout the nation. Tell your representative to vote no on these bills if you live in Tennessee. If you live in another state, let your representative know that measures such as those in Tennessee do serve their constituency. Send a letter to your state representative from the templates below.
Letter for Tennessee Assembly Members
Dear [Assembly Member: Senator or Representative] [insert name]:
I am a constituent and a [blank] of the Association for Public Justice (APJ). APJ promotes policies that ensure the wellbeing of all Americans while allowing people of faith to practice their religion without undue interference.
[Or…] I am a constituent and a [board member, donor, beneficiary, alumni] of a faith-based nonprofit that provides [state the service(s) provided, not the name of the nonprofit].
There are currently over 40 immigration-related bills under consideration in the Tennessee legislature. Eight of these were introduced in January of 2026, following a visit by key state legislators to the White House, where they met with Deputy Chief of Staff and Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller.
If passed, these bills could severely limit the ways faith-based organizations can serve Tennesseans. Many critical public services, including affordable housing, foster care, disaster relief and health clinics, are provided through partnerships with various nonprofit and faith-based organizations.
Forced compliance and verification measures at the local level will directly impact the way faith based organizations are able to serve our community. Creating verification requirements places additional burdens on service providers, who are not immigration enforcement officials, and may prevent them from being able to carry out their mission. Forced compliance would mean, for example, drivers of a church van would have to verify the status for each passenger putting themselves and other passengers at risk of misdemeanor charges. Staff will have to devote time and resources to training in and implementing new procedures, at the expense of the people they are funded to help.
In some instances, faith-based service providers or civil employees of faith may feel that these requirements violate their conscience, interfering with God's call to love their neighbor. These bills, if enacted, could result in lower church attendance, children missing school, and the shuttering of Christian institutions that rely on the tuition from international students. Christian higher education is already experiencing a decline in enrollment as students are unable or afraid to study in the U.S.
Elected officials can support laws that both uphold reasonable immigration enforcement and also respect the conscience of religious social service providers and congregations.
For these reasons I ask that you VOTE NO to HB1711/SB2108, HB0793/SB0836, HB1710/SB1915, HB1705/SB1922, and HB1707/SB1952.
Thank you for your consideration and your service to our country.
Respectfully,
[Your name]
[Your contact information]
Letter for Non-Tennessee Assembly Members
Dear [Assembly Member: Senator or Representative] [insert name]:
I am a constituent and a [blank] of the Association for Public Justice (APJ). APJ promotes policies that ensure the wellbeing of all Americans while allowing people of faith to practice their religion without undue interference.
[Or…] I am a constituent and a [board member, donor, beneficiary, alumni] of a faith-based nonprofit that provides [state the service(s) provided, not the name of the nonprofit].
Tennessee has become a testing ground for immigration-related legislation. If passed, it's likely other states will follow, adopting policies that do not represent state residents and restrict critical public services. Eight of the 40 immigration-related bills in Tennessee were introduced in January of 2026, following a visit by key state legislators to the White House, where they met with Deputy Chief of Staff and Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller.
These bills include measures that would mandate ordinary citizens to act as immigration enforcement agents, verifying immigration status before providing even the most basic of services, such as K-12 education. Service providers in violation of these provisions would face misdemeanor charges. If passed, these bills would set a precedent that severely limits the ways faith-based organizations can serve their communities. Many critical public services, including affordable housing, foster care, disaster relief and health clinics are provided through partnerships with various nonprofit and faith-based organizations.
Creating verification requirements places additional burdens on service providers, who are not immigration enforcement officials, and may prevent them from being able to carry out their mission. Forced compliance would mean drivers of a church van would have to verify the status for each passenger putting themselves and other passengers at risk of misdemeanor charges. Staff will have to devote time and resources to training in and implementing new procedures, at the expense of the people they are funded to help.
In some instances, faith-based service providers or civil employees of faith may feel that these requirements violate their conscience, interfering with God's call to love their neighbor. These bills, if enacted, could result in lower church attendance, children missing school, and the shuttering of Christian institutions that rely on the tuition from international students. Christian higher education is already experiencing a decline in enrollment as students are unable or afraid to study in the U.S.
Elected officials can support laws that both uphold reasonable immigration enforcement and also respect the conscience of religious social service providers and congregations.
VOTE NO on bills in [your state] that mandate reporting, create additional verification measures, and criminalize public officials for serving their community members.
Thank you for your consideration and your service to our country.
Respectfully,
[Your name]
[Your contact information]
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