Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, speaking Friday at the Ocoee River in Polk County, again expressed frustration about the movement of migrant children through Tennessee – although his own cabinet is saying the state has no authority to investigate a federal shelter in Chattanooga.
“We were asked to accept unaccompanied minors and we declined that because we were very concerned about the human trafficking of children,” Lee told reporters. “In spite of our declaration there, the federal government with no transparency has moved these children to our state. That is a real problem.”
But in a June 3 letter, four commissioners in Lee’s executive branch said Tennessee will not investigate the Chattanooga shelter housing migrant children because the state does not have the authority or any information that, under state law, would trigger additional scrutiny of the facility.
The letter to Tennessee House Government Operations Committee Chairman John Ragan, R-Oak Ridge, said there are no reports of child abuse at the facility and that while states are impacted by federal immigration policies, “states have very little control over the movement of illegal immigrants who are subject to immigration proceedings in federal courts.”
Last month, Ragan asked the commissioners to investigate the Chattanooga shelter and provide more information about the children coming into Tennessee and whether they were victims of human trafficking or posed a health risk to Tennessee residents.