Judge halts Tennessee plan to hand disabled immigrant children’s data to immigration enforcement agency
A restraining order pauses transfer of medical records for roughly 400 seriously ill children — but underlying law is still on books
NASHVILLE, United States (MNTV) — A Tennessee judge has temporarily blocked the state from handing over the personal data of hundreds of seriously ill and disabled immigrant children to a state immigration enforcement agency, after physicians sued to stop it. A hearing is set for July 2.
At issue: Tennessee’s Children’s Special Services program, which provides medical treatment and equipment for children under 21 with severe disabilities or chronic illness.
Roughly 400 families were told that staying enrolled past June 30 could mean the state health department shares their children’s information with the Centralized Immigration Enforcement Division — a state agency that works with federal immigration authorities.
The state is leaning on a 2026 law requiring agencies to report identifying information on undocumented recipients of public benefits.
Physicians and legal advocates say that’s a stretch — the law was never meant to reach specialized pediatric medical programs, and federal guidelines governing children’s health services don’t require immigration status checks in the first place.
What’s really at stake is simple: families forced to choose between their child’s medical care and their family’s safety from immigration enforcement.
Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal found the risk of immediate, irreparable harm credible enough to pause the transfer — though the law itself remains in place while the case proceeds.
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