Tennessee's Children's Special Services program exists for one reason: to keep our most medically fragile kids alive. These are children on ventilators, children with rare diseases, children whose care cannot simply be paused or transferred. Governor Lee's administration just told 400 of those families that they have until June 30 to hand over personal information to a state agency that shares data with ICE — or lose their child's healthcare. There are no transition plans. There is no alternative coverage waiting. Just an ultimatum.
This is wrong, and I think you know it. These families aren't a security risk. They are parents doing everything right — enrolling in state programs, following the rules — and now they're being forced to choose between keeping their child safe and keeping their child alive. When families disenroll out of fear, Tennessee still pays the downstream costs: emergency room visits, hospital crises, longer and more expensive interventions. We don't save money. We just move the harm somewhere harder to see.
I'm asking you to publicly call on the Lee administration to rescind these data-sharing notices and extend the June 30 deadline immediately. Every day without action is a day a family is closer to losing care their child cannot live without. Please make clear to your colleagues and to this administration that Tennessee does not protect its children by threatening them.
