An advocacy group for illegal aliens sued the Tennessee Department of Child Services (DCS), alleging that DCS is not doing enough to help illegal alien children in foster care gain citizenship in the United States.
“For children in DCS custody without legal immigration status, DCS’s care must include addressing and safeguarding their immigration-related needs, which impact their health, welfare, and safety,” says a lawsuit filed by Advocates for Immigrant Rights in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. “This care entails determining whether a child is in need of immigration related services, ensuring that DCS considers immigration-related needs when helping the child plan for their future, and helping a child access needed services.”
Advocates for Immigrant Rights (AIR) is headquartered in Memphis.
“We fight for the rights of immigrants but also for the expansion of those rights to ensure that all people are equally protected by the laws of the United States,” the group’s website says. “AIR seeks to create structural and systemic change by coordinating with other legal service providers and community-based organizations to complement our skills and build our mutual capacity.”
AIR filed the lawsuit on behalf of three anonymous plaintiffs, listed only as B.R., L.T. and A.B.
The lawsuit claims that children present in Tennessee illegally are protected under Tennessee law and says that due to DCS’ “failure,” those children are more likely than other illegal aliens to be deported:
Like all children in DCS custody, immigrant children are entitled to the opportunity to “reach their full potential as productive, competent and healthy adults.” Tenn. Code § 37-5-102(a). DCS is aware that for immigrant children in its custody, this opportunity requires taking steps to become a legal resident. In fact, its own Independent Living Handbook, provided to older youth preparing to transition out of DCS’s care, advises that they do just that.
But due to DCS’s failures, many immigrant children age out of DCS custody in a far worse position than they entered—having lost their most promising opportunity to become a U.S. citizen. As a result, these youth are at an increased risk of being deported.
The suit demands that DCS establish policies to help illegal alien children in foster care to become U.S. citizens.
According to a state report in 2020, Tennessee has 9,113 children in foster care.
Earlier this year, DCS requested $26 million from the state to address critical needs for the agency after an audit found that case managers were quitting at an alarming rate due to low wages.
The same audit showed that DCS is struggling to find temporary housing for foster children and that its child neglect oversight is woefully inadequate.
The state does not have an official record of unaccompanied illegal alien minors in Tennessee, but the subject made headlines in May when late-night flights carrying illegal alien children landed in Chattanooga.
Where those children ultimately ended up remains unknown.
“As the Ranking Member of the US House of Representatives’ Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, I continue to seek answers from this Administration on how they plan to deal with the crisis their policies have caused at the border,” Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN-03) said at the time. As part of this effort, I will continue to demand that the Administration provide details on how they plan to account for and provide shelter to these migrant children pouring across our border while also ensuring that local communities do not absorb the financial and health costs associated with the Administration’s policies.”
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on X / Twitter.
