A Tennessee judge has temporarily blocked the state from sharing the personal information of hundreds of seriously ill and disabled immigrant children with a state immigration enforcement agency, halting a policy that physicians and advocates say could deter families from seeking lifesaving medical care.
The temporary restraining order, first reported by The Tennessean, came the same day a group of physicians sued to stop the policy from taking effect. A hearing is scheduled for July 2.
The case centers on Tennessee's Children's Special Services program, a decades-old safety-net program that provides medical care, therapies, equipment and case management for children under 21 with severe disabilities or chronic illnesses.
About 400 families were notified that if they remained in the program after June 30, the Tennessee Department of Health would be required to share their children's identifying information with the state's Centralized Immigration Enforcement Division, which cooperates with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Tennessee Lookout reported on June 11.
State officials say the reporting requirement stems from a 2026 law requiring government agencies to report identifying information about people unlawfully present in the United States who receive public benefits.
Physicians and legal advocates dispute that interpretation, arguing the law's immigration verification requirements apply only to adults and that federal rules governing the children's program do not require immigration status checks.
In issuing the restraining order, Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal wrote that the plaintiffs could suffer "immediate and irreparable injury" before the court had an opportunity to fully consider the case. The ruling temporarily blocks the transfer of children's information but does not suspend the broader law.
Doctors and public health officials have warned that some families have already considered withdrawing from the program rather than risk having their information shared with immigration authorities. The program serves children with conditions including cancer, spina bifida, congenital heart disease, seizure disorders and other complex medical needs.
"You are putting parents in a position where they're having to deal with unimaginable decisions," Katie Richards, president and CEO of Siloam Health, told the Tennessee Lookout. "They face the risk of deportation, or risk their children's lifesaving care."
Dr. Sanmi Areola, director of the Metro Nashville Public Health Department, said there was "no way to look at this positively" for children's health, while other physicians warned that losing access to the program could interrupt treatments, medications and specialized care for some of the state's most medically vulnerable children.
State officials have not publicly said whether children enrolled in the program, or their parents, could face immigration enforcement as a result of the reporting requirement. The Tennessee Department of Health and Gov. Bill Lee's office have not commented publicly on the court's order.
