Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN) joined Representative Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN-03) and demanded a briefing from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) after reports of abuse of the unaccompanied minors in federal custody.
“This allegation of abuse and the missing child individually raise urgent questions that demand immediate answers regarding the steps HHS is taking to ensure the safety and well-being of UACs in this Chattanooga facility,” the letter states.
In addition to the reports of potential child abuse, the Chattanooga Police Department is looking for a 16-year-old boy who went missing from a Highland Park shelter housing unaccompanied migrant children, according to a report form the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
“This new information only underscores the need for such transparency,” the trio added.
Last month, multiple airplanes carrying unaccompanied migrant children from the southern border landed late at night on multiple days at Chattanooga’s Wilson Air Center
After the planes flew in under the cover of night, Blackburn, Hagerty, and Fleischmann introduced the Migrant Resettlement Transparency Act. The legislation would require the HHS Secretary and DHS Secretary to consult in advance with state and local officials of impacted jurisdictions regarding federally administered or funded migrant resettlement.
The three Tennessee lawmakers are not the only elected officials concerned about the decision by the Biden administration to move migrants across the country without consulting with local leaders.
Governor Bill Lee and Governor Kim Reynolds called for a hearing into the ongoing crisis at the country’s southern border — as both have had unaccompanied migrant children relocated to their respective states.
“These experiences sow seeds of mistrust in our communities, and work to intentionally subvert the will of the people for a secure border and a clear, lawful immigration process,” the two wrote.
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Cooper Moran is a reporter for the Star News Network. Follow Cooper on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Lee is worthless.
So is Blackburn and Hagerty
DEMAND? Republicans are laughable. Always end up playing defense- ALWAYS. Just one reason I left this party! They, too, no longer put Americans FIRST!!