A Nashville judge has extended an order preventing Tennessee Department of Health officials f rom sharing identifying information about 400 sick and disabled kids with a state agency that collaborates with federal immigration enforcement.
It is the second reprieve for children enrolled in Children’s Special Services, a safety net program for sick children who need ongoing and — in some instances — life-sustaining care since last month, when the health department sent out notices spelling out immigration status reporting was a condition of continued care.
The department set a June 30 notice for families to either opt out of the program entirely or be reported to the state’s Centralized Immigration Enforcement Division, established last year by GOP lawmakers to oversee state “c ollaboration with federal immigration agencies.” The letter went to about 400 immigrant families. The program serves, in total, more than 4,600 kids statewide…