On June 9, 2026, Gov. Bill Lee’s administration sent notices to families enrolled in Tennessee’s Children’s Special Services program: submit personal information to a state agency that shares data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or lose healthcare for critically ill and disabled children. The deadline is June 30.
400 Families Got the Ultimatum. None Have Transition Plans.
Children’s Special Services is a last-resort state program covering children with complex medical needs. The children affected include those on ventilators and feeding tubes, and children in the middle of chemotherapy treatment. The state provided no alternative coverage options and no transition plan.
400
families enrolled in Children’s Special Services received the ICE-reporting ultimatum, according to a Tennessee Department of Health email shared with the Tennessee Lookout.
The directive targets only immigrant children without permanent legal status. For their parents, the choice is between keeping their child alive on life-sustaining equipment or exposing the family to federal immigration enforcement.
Nurses Are Scrambling. Lawyers Can’t Find Plaintiffs.
Public health staff described working around the clock to keep children out of hospitals as the deadline approaches.
“We’re seeing nurses scramble for ventilators, for feeding tubes, to try to keep kids out of the hospital, to try to keep kids alive.”
Dr. Morgan McDonald, Nashville Metro Health Board, June 12, 2026
The Tennessee Justice Center, a nonprofit legal advocacy organization, has been searching for plaintiffs to mount a legal challenge. As of June 13, they had not found a single family willing to join. Executive Director Michele Johnson said families are “so scared” that even partial anonymity in court filings offers no reassurance: plaintiffs’ identities must be shared with state defense lawyers during litigation.
The Tennessee Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics urged pediatricians statewide to send urgent letters and sign a petition opposing the policy. State Sen. Heidi Campbell, a Nashville Democrat, pressed the Tennessee Department of Health for details in writing. The department responded to Campbell but did not reply to media requests for comment.
The June 30 deadline is now two weeks away. Children midway through treatment have no guaranteed path to continued care.
What You Can Do Now
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Call Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s office at (615) 741-2001 and demand the June 30 deadline be suspended immediately. Ask the governor’s office to rescind the ICE-reporting requirement for Children’s Special Services enrollment and issue a transition plan for children on life-sustaining equipment.
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Call the Tennessee Department of Health at (615) 741-3111 and demand a 90-day grace period for affected children. Ask specifically about transition plans for patients on ventilators, feeding tubes, and chemotherapy who will lose care on July 1 without one.
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Contact the Tennessee Justice Center at (615) 255-0331 if you or someone you know may qualify to join the legal challenge. The organization needs plaintiffs before the June 30 deadline and is actively seeking families willing to participate. More information is at tnjustice.org.
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Find your U.S. senators at senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm and ask them to investigate whether Tennessee’s data-sharing arrangement with ICE violates federal conditions attached to state health program funding. Congressional oversight is one lever that does not require a plaintiff.
Sources
- CalMatters journalism honored as ‘impeccable,’ ‘beautifully-written’ and ‘the definition of public service’ in Golden State Journalism Awards — CalMatters (2026-06-16)
Tennessee Lookout: Tennessee Tells Sick, Disabled Immigrant Kids They Will Be Reported to ICE
Tennessee Justice Center: Legal Advocacy for Low-Income Tennesseans
KFF: Children’s Medicaid and CHIP Enrollment and Coverage Data
ACLU: ICE Data-Sharing Agreements with State Agencies