FILE - Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter / State Rep. Yusuf Hakeem speaks during a meet and greet hosted by the League of Women Voters in the Chattanooga Rooms at the University Center on the campus of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on Monday, Sept. 24, 2018 in Chattanooga, Tenn.Allegations of sexual battery 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 claims.
"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 month. But just when this sort of blew up with dealing with the border and children and all of that, that's when all of this sort of comes out. I know things don't necessarily have to be fabricated, but the timing of it is very suspect to me."
Department of Children's Services Commissioner Jennifer Nichols announced last week the department suspended the license of the Georgia-based Baptiste Group to operate La Casa de Sidney in Chattanooga as a residential child care agency following allegations that a woman working there kissed a teenage migrant boy staying at the center.
DCS found the facility showed an "inability" to hire people suitable and capable of taking care of children, leading to criminal charges and the potential for a youth to be subject to abuse or lack of adequate supervision. The group is appealing the suspension.
Chattanooga Police charged staff member Randi Duarte on June 30 with sexual battery by an authority figure, coercion of a witness and tampering with evidence. All youths have been moved from the shelter.
The Baptiste Group was contracted by the federal government under former President Donald Trump to provide shelter services for unaccompanied minor children. The facility on the old Temple University campus was licensed last year by the administration of Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a license that was renewed and expanded in February.
In May, video from Chattanooga TV station WRCB kicked up a national firestorm by showing the children traveling to the shelter at night. Elected Republicans including Lee expressed concern about border issues.
Hakeem said Tuesday he is trying to figure out which entity is conducting an investigation into the Baptiste Group - the state Department of Children's Services, the federal government or the committee on immigrant children, a Republican-only panel convened after the video surfaced to look at the impact of the children on the state.
What concerns me is that supposedly the state would have been doing on-site reviews every month. But just when this sort of blew up with dealing with the border and children and all that, that's when all of this sort of comes out. – Rep. Yusef Hakeem
(READ MORE: Hamilton County district attorney joins investigation of migrant shelter)
State Sen. Todd Gardenhire, a Chattanooga Republican serving on the committee, said Tuesday he isn't worried about the Baptiste Group losing its license.
"I just want these kids taken care of while they're here in the United States. That's been my only concern," Gardenhire said.
He has advocated for separating frustrations about security at the Southern border - which he maintains is up to the federal government - from what to do with the children once they are brought to the United States. Gardenhire contends that once the children are in the custody of the United States and come to Tennessee, "we have a moral obligation" to care for them.
Yusuf and Gardenhire have characterized the state's stand against taking in unaccompanied minors from south of the border as politically motivated.
As the study committee prepares to meet next week, Gardenhire predicted "a lot of political posturing" from committee members on the border situation.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Children's Services has said no other facility in the state is accepting unaccompanied minors from the Mexican border. Most of them are believed to be fleeing terrible living conditions in Central American countries such as Guatemala, although many Republicans are saying the children are victims of human trafficking.
House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, who formed the legislative study committee, both agree with the state's decision to suspend Baptiste Group's license because of the seriousness of the accusations.
"Our study committee will continue meeting to further examine this situation and its circumstances, as well as the broader issue because of the Biden Administration's ongoing failures to provide critical information and transparency to both our elected officials and Tennessee taxpayers," Sexton spokesman Doug Kufner said.
McNally said he was "grateful" that DCS suspended the license.
"The allegations of abuse there are disturbing and highlights the need for openness, transparency and oversight over the process of transporting unaccompanied migrants and refugees into our state," McNally said.
He noted the state "remains resolved" in opposition to Biden administration changes in immigration policies.
Read more at TennesseeLookout.com.