Tennessee is sending letters to immigrant parents of disabled and terminally ill children enrolled in a last-resort public health program — kids on ventilators, kids with cancer, kids in wheelchairs - telling them that if their child keeps receiving medical care after June 30, the state will report them to ICE.
This program has existed for over 50 years. It has never required immigration status. Until now.
Children's Special Services is Tennessee's last-resort public health insurance program for low-income kids with the most severe disabilities and life-threatening illnesses - kids with no other coverage, no other options. The state just sent letters to at least 90 Nashville families giving them an impossible choice: keep your child alive, or stay invisible.
One mother, Gabriella, has a 10-year-old son born with spina bifida who requires near-monthly emergency care. They're six months from a final ruling on their asylum case. She said if they're sent back to Honduras, "he's not going to make it."
Here's the part that should make your head explode: the law Tennessee is using to justify this explicitly applies only to people 18 and older. These are children. Pediatricians, advocates, and lawmakers are all saying the state is misapplying its own law to reach kids it was never meant to cover.
The Tennessee Justice Center says the directive is unlawful and is preparing a legal challenge. But families are afraid to come forward as plaintiffs. Because coming forward means being seen.
The state health department has not responded to a single press request for comment.
What kind of government sends a letter to the mother of a child on a ventilator and calls it immigration enforcement?
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