Tennessee\nGov. Bill Lee\u2019s proposed school voucher program establishes an Education\nSavings Account (ESA) for an individual student. An Educational Savings Account\nmakes taxpayer money available to parents to spend on a wide range of\neducational services, ranging from tutoring to computer software. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Governor Lee has publicly stated<\/a> that his school voucher plan was intended only for \u201clegal residents\u201d of the state and proposed ensuring this by adding a requirement that applicants provide at least one of the documents listed in the state\u2019s E-verify statute. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nbill\u2019s original version did not require beneficiaries receiving voucher funds\nto submit any documentation demonstrating lawful presence in the United States.\nWith an estimated 180,000 illegal aliens living in Tennessee, along with\nrepeated legislative efforts to award in-state tuition to illegal alien students,\nquestions were raised about how to prevent taxpayer education funds from being\nspent on individuals illegally in the U.S. However, providing documents required in the E-Verify statute\nwill not cure the problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite the amendments aimed at proving lawful presence in the U.S., the voucher bill doesn\u2019t include any process to verify documents submitted by the applicants. This opens up the door for applicants to submit fraudulent documentation of alleged lawful presence. \u00a0Immigration document fraud has long been a major problem in the United States. \u00a0And, Tennessee has not been immune to immigration fraud. In 2017, twenty illegal aliens<\/a> were discovered working for a Memphis freight company using fake identity and work permit documents. They were indicted on federal document fraud charges. Inevitably, some illegal aliens relying on fraud to work in the U.S. are going to be parents \u2013 and there is no indication they won\u2019t resort to the same type of fraud to obtain educational funds for their kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A 2017 poll published<\/a> by The Tennessee Star, <\/em>consistently showed that Tennessee Republicans\u00a0solidly opposed\u00a0extending benefits to non-citizens living in the state. In the six months between the June 2017\u00a0Tennessee Star poll<\/a>\u00a0and the December 2017\u00a0Tennessee Star poll<\/a>, opposition to in-state tuition for illegal immigrant students among likely Tennessee Republican primary voters had actually increased\u2013from 84 percent to 88 percent\u2013while support has decreased\u2013from 11 percent to 6 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Governor Lee stated<\/a> clearly that he was opposed to offering in-state tuition to illegal alien students and that he would veto the bill that was then pending but failed to pass in the state legislature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n