By J. Holly McCall | Editor-in-Chief
Good morning, Lookout readers.
On Tuesday, Senior Reporter Anita Wadhwani reported the Tennessee Department of Health told the families of critically ill children who depend on a state health insurance program carved out to care for kids with cancer, spina bifida and other serious illnesses — including terminal ones — that they must provide proof of their immigration status or forfeit care.
The Lookout has obtained a letter from interim Tennessee Department of Health Commissioner John Dunn that states all immigration data will be turned over to Tennessee Department of Safety’s Centralized Immigration Enforcement Division, which shares data with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
“You are putting parents in a position where they’re having to deal with unimaginable decisions,” said Katie Richards, president and CEO of the faith-based primary healthcare provider, Siloam Health. “They face the risk of deportation, or risk their children’s lifesaving care.”
Richards is one of several public health care providers and pediatricians raising the alarm about the potentially life threatening consequences of the state’s policy on children.
THE LOOKOUT’S TOP STORY
The Tennessee Department of Health has informed parents of critically ill immigrant children it will report immigration status beginning in July. Local public health departments like the Metro Nashville Public Health Department, pictured here, administer the Children’s Special Services program . (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
by Anita Wadhwani
Pediatricians and public health care providers on Wednesday warned of life-threatening consequences for children with critical illnesses who rely on a specialized public health care program as Tennessee moves forward with a directive to verify and report their immigration status.
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In an ongoing battle between a state takeover of the Metro Nashville Airport Authority, the authority voted on June 10 to sue state officials again. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
by Sam Stockard
The Metro Nashville Airport Authority in a specially-called meeting on Wednesday voted to file suit against the state of Tennessee to stop another airport board takeover, the latest legal maneuver in a three-year court fight.
FEATURED IN THE LOOKOUT
NAACP Tennessee Conference President Gloria Sweet-Love speaks during a protest rally against the redrawing of Tennessee’s congressional districts at the state Capitol in Nashville on May 5, 2026. (Photo: Cassandra Stephenson/Tennessee Lookout)
by Adam Friedman
The same day the Democratic Party dropped its lawsuit challenging Tennessee’s new U.S. House map, the state NAACP chapter is petitioning a federal judicial panel to block the map while its case goes forward.
COMMENTARY
The late Rev. Bernard LaFayette visits the farm of Rev. Will Campbell on Nov. 18, 2022. Campbell, a Baptist minister nicknamed the “Bootleg Preacher,” was a Southern white man active in the Civil Rights Movement. He died in 2013. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
by Molly Secours
It’s right to honor the many Tennessee Black leaders who have stood up for civil rights, often putting their bodies in harm’s way and livelihoods at risk, but white leaders today should be speaking out, too, to take a stand against injustice, and there is some historic precedent here in the state.
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COMMENTARY
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