Tennessee Wins Lawsuit Defending Human Smuggling Ban
October 3, 2026, 2:31 p.m.

NASHVILLE, TN - The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office successfully defended the State’s human smuggling law after a federal district court completely dismissed the case challenging the statute. The court did not invalidate Tennessee’s human smuggling law, which makes it a felony to intentionally transport or hide known illegal immigrants for profit.

The plaintiffs sued in June 2025, shortly before the law took effect, and asked the Court to block it. The Court has now dismissed the entire case, ruling the plaintiffs did not show they faced a credible threat of prosecution, which is required to challenge a criminal law before it has been enforced.

“Courts exist to resolve actual legal disputes, not as backstop legislatures for people to air their political grievances,” said Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti. “This is America, we all have the right to disagree about government policies and the plaintiffs can absolutely criticize any law they don't like. But from day one, this case was a policy disagreement dressed up as a lawsuit and that's just not how our judiciary works.”

The Court did not rule on whether the law is constitutional, and it dismissed the case without prejudice.

Read the Opinion.