Tennessee's English-License Law Threatens 30 Years of Growth

A new Tennessee law will require applicants for driver's licenses and vehicle registrations to prove U.S. citizenship or lawful residency, and to pass an English-language exam. The law takes effect in January.

Republican lawmakers said the measure improves road safety and discourages illegal immigration. Critics argue it will harm the state's economy by making Tennessee less attractive to international workers and companies.

Under the new policy, applicants who cannot take the written exam in English on the first try may receive a limited license after completing the test in another language. They must return after one year and pass a written English exam.

Chattanooga immigration lawyer Terry Olsen warned the law could reverse three decades of economic growth.

"When you have companies looking where to locate, they look at factors," Olsen said. "Trade teams look at schools, education, quality of life movement, and part of that movement and quality of life would be driving, and so when you have a culture in the U.S. that's about cars, and we don't have where you can take a train or a bus or can walk somewhere, it really reduces these factors."

The law is set to take effect in January. Legal challenges or business pushback could emerge before then.