Washington, DC — During a virtual press briefing held earlier today, America’s Voice hosted Lisa Sherman Luna, Executive Director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition; Rev. Jeff Brown, Pastor of Woodmont Hills Church in Nashville; Dr. Jill Obremskey, Board Certified Pediatrician and former Primary Care Pediatrician, Urgent Care Medical Director, CMO of a Children’s Hospital and Medical Director at the TN Department of Health; Michele Johnson, Executive Director of the Tennessee Justice Center; and Brenda, a mother from Tennessee whose child relies on the Children’s Special Services program. They discussed the recent reports that Tennessee plans to share information on hundreds of immigrant children receiving care through the state’s Children’s Special Services program with immigration authorities and the consequences for medically vulnerable children, families, and healthcare providers. A recording of the virtual event is available HERE.
Lisa Sherman Luna, Executive Director, Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition said: “And regardless of your political views, Tennesseans and Americans as a whole believe that caring for children should be a top priority, especially vulnerable children with complex and terminal terminally ill diagnoses. Yet here in Tennessee, we have seen the horrendous effect of what happens when an anti-immigrant agenda at the state and national level becomes the focus of elected positions of power. The results are what we have been warning about and are now a reality. Innocent and vulnerable children are at risk of death.”
Rev. Jeff Brown, Pastor of Woodmont Hills Church in Nashville, said: “These are the most vulnerable families. We’re talking about things like feeding tubes and ventilators and forcing families into impossible situations. Families who are working hard and doing everything they can to take care of their kids. Who are we going to be? Who is going to shape our values? And I can see how these policies might pander to the preferences of the sitting president… I think we would do well to have elected officials actually interact with those people who are most affected with the healthcare professionals, listen to what is being said [and] listen to the families, and to ask ourselves, who do we want to be in this moment?”
Dr. Jill Obremskey, Board Certified Pediatrician and former Primary Care Pediatrician, Medical Director for Pediatric After-Hours Clinic at Vanderbilt, CMO of Centennial Children’s Hospital and Medical Director at the Tennessee Department of Health, said: “Speaking as a pediatrician and a former CMO and public health official, I know the diagnoses and circumstances of many children who depend on the Children’s Special Services program. If this policy remains unchanged, there will undoubtedly be interruptions to the critical care they require. Those interruptions will lead to worsening health for many children, more emergency room visits, more hospitalizations, more suffering—and for some children, death. I ask Tennesseans and our governor to remember that these are not policy abstractions. I call on your sense of humanity. These are children that will be impacted. Immigration policy is a legitimate topic for debate, but it must be addressed in a humane way that does not jeopardize the health and lives of any child.”
Brenda, Mother from Tennessee whose child is dependent on the Children’s Special Services program, said: “My daughter has a diagnosis of infantile cerebral palsy and epilepsy. We left our native country, Honduras, seeking the medical assistance she needed to survive. Thanks to the help of the Children’s Special Services program, my daughter remains stable. However, we are deeply concerned that such inhumane decisions are being made that put at risk the health and lives of children who cannot defend themselves on their own. I make an urgent appeal to your sensitivity and commitment so that you put your hand on your heart and help us stop this law that affects us so much. The life and health of our children is not a game.”
Michele Johnson, Executive Director of the Tennessee Justice Center, said: “The lives of 400 children hang in the balance, and with them, the values we claim to hold as a state do too. Tennessee now faces a choice about who we are and what we stand for. We must decide whether compassion and care remain among our guiding values.”
Mario Carillo, Americas Voice Campaigns Director, and the moderator of the discussion, stated: “Innocent immigrant children have become the latest targets of an escalating anti-immigrant agenda, now reaching beyond the federal government into states like Tennessee. By requiring local health departments to verify the immigration status of children enrolled in the Children’s Special Services Program and report those who are not lawfully present, the state is forcing parents into an impossible choice between accessing critical medical care for their children and risking detention or deportation. No family should have to make that decision. Targeting children who depend on lifesaving health services is both cruel and dangerous, and lawmakers must recognize the devastating consequences these policies will have on real children, real families, and the health of our communities.”
Access a recording of the virtual event HERE
