RELEASE: TIRRC Condemns Administration's Plan to Build ICE Call Center Targeting Migrant Children
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media@tnimmigrant.org
November 6, 2025
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TIRRC Condemns Administration's Plan to Build ICE Call Center Targeting Migrant Children
TIRRC denounces allocation of federal resources to track unaccompanied minors while American families struggle to afford food and basic necessities
NASHVILLE— With the federal government shutdown now stretching into record-breaking territory, today in a video statement, TIRRC issues a sharp rebuke of the Trump administration's decision to allocate resources toward a new ICE call center in Nashville designed to track unaccompanied migrant children for deportation. The facility, expected to process up to 7,000 calls daily when operational in 2026, has drawn criticism as families nationwide face impossible choices between food and bills during the ongoing shutdown.
“Right now we are in the middle of the longest government shutdown ever,” stated Judith Clerjeune, TIRRC’s Advocacy Director. “We have families who are choosing between putting food on the table and paying their bills. We have kids going hungry. And instead of using our resources to support families we have a regime who is choosing to target children and it’s unthinkable.
“This is part of their agenda, to enrich the pockets of their corporate buddies. This is part of their strategy, to profit and enrich their profits instead of actually helping families across this country. There are so many things they could use the billions of dollars for, to support our hospitals, to make sure people have healthcare, to put food on their tables to have better schools. And instead of doing that they are choosing to build call centers that are completely useless and go after kids.”
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The Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) is a statewide, immigrant and refugee-led collaboration whose mission is to build power, amplify our voices, and organize communities to advocate for our rights in order to build a stronger, more inclusive Tennessee where people of all nationalities, immigration statuses, and racial identities can belong and thrive. Since its founding in 2001, TIRRC has grown from a grassroots network of community leaders into one of the most diverse and effective coalitions of its kind, a model for emerging immigrant rights organizations in the Southeast and throughout the United States.