Immigration
Texas ruling on DACA dashes hopes in Tennessee
On July 16, a Texas federal judge ruled that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program was illegal, and although DACA recipients have learned to live with uncertainty, many were still heart broken. Nashville DACA recipient Nathalia Castro had to think carefully about pursuing higher education, knowing that the DACA program still faces legal challenges. […]
Chattanooga center for immigrant children sues state over license suspension
The Chattanooga organization that runs a short-term center for immigrant children sued the state Tuesday, seeking to have its license reinstated, after the Department of Children’s Services suspended it over allegations of sexual misconduct. Baptiste Group, which runs La Casa de Sidney, and holds a contract with the federal government to accept immigrant children until […]
Lawyer charges human trafficking played part in 16-year-old’s death on construction site
A Nashville judge ruled that evidence of human trafficking would be allowed in the case of a 16-year-old who died in a construction-related accident in downtown Nashville last year. Gustavo Ramirez had been working on a scaffold without a harness during construction of La Quinta Inn on Interstate Drive when he fell 120 feet to […]
After National Guard trip, governor says nation needs new Southern border strategy
Shrugging off the notion that the Southern border “crisis” is a political attack, Gov. Bill Lee says the nation should develop a new strategy to stop a surge in illegal crossings and activity from Mexico. After a two-day trip to review 300 Tennessee National Guard soldiers serving on a year-long mission for border patrol support, […]
Refugee arrivals in Tennessee drop to historic low in 2020
As a former child soldier, Gatluak Thach was granted refugee status and moved to Nashville in 1996 to start a new life. Efforts to teach his wife and the nearby community English eventually led to Thach founding the Nashville Center for Empowerment, but over the last few years, Thach noticed a significant decrease in the number […]
Amid investigation, Hakeem raises questions about state suspension of Baptiste Group license
Allegations of sexual abuse at a Baptiste Group home for migrant children gave the state an excuse to suspend the facility’s license as political pressure mounted, a Chattanooga Democrat says. “That’s my perspective,” state Rep. Yusuf Hakeem said Tuesday. “And what concerns me is that supposedly the state would have been doing on-site reviews every […]
Metro Schools, MNEA launch community schools project with immigrant organizations
In Metro Nashville Public Schools, students speak more than 100 different languages and the majority of immigrants are arriving from non-English speaking countries, but many students don’t currently feel represented in their curriculum. Members of the Metro Nashville Education Association (MNEA) and representatives of immigrant organizations have found over the last year that children of […]
Settled into new homes, refugees in US say they are working for a better life for all
Violence, persecution and wars amid a global pandemic added to the growing number of displaced persons around the world last year. The United Nations reports that 11.2 million people were displaced from their homelands in 2020, bringing the total number of displaced persons in the world to 82.4 million. Of those forced to flee their […]
Gardenhire wants facts to drive solution on unaccompanied children
Taking a different view from firebrand conservatives, state Sen. Todd Gardenhire hopes a Study Committee of Refugee Issues will remove the “rhetoric” and use facts to decide how to handle unaccompanied children coming to Tennessee as part of a migrant wave at the Mexican border. Gardenhire, a Chattanooga Republican, penned an op-ed published Saturday in […]
Rep. Hakeem terms committee on refugee issues ‘extreme partisan effort’
A partisan committee formed by the House and Senate speakers will evaluate the impact of migrant children the federal government is bringing to Tennessee, even though figures show no significant increase since President Joe Biden took office. The Study Committee on Refugee Issues, which is spurred by reports about unaccompanied minors being brought to the […]
Editor’s column: Lee is either ignorant or dishonest in migrant children situation
In this week’s manufactured crisis, I give you the situation of unaccompanied migrant children being transported to shelter in Chattanooga. To hear Tennessee’s Republican leaders, the kids were snuck into our fair state in the dead of night, with no consultation with local leaders and against explicit warnings to the Biden administration that we don’t […]
Immigrant rights, faith groups criticize Blackburn and Hagerty stance on immigrant children
Immigrant-rights advocates and faith-based coalitions criticized statements by U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty about housing immigrant children in Tennessee. Reports by WRCB on Wednesday showed migrant children arriving in Hamilton County through Chattanooga’s Wilson Air Center and then boarding buses later verified to be under contract with the U.S. Department of Defense. Later […]