ICE to Expand Child Deportation Efforts with Nashville Call Center

U.S.Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is planning to increase the Trump administration’s efforts to deport children by opening a call center in Nashville, Tennessee. It’s a move advocates say will further traumatize vulnerable families.

According to a report from ABC News on November 5th, ICE officials posted a notice on a government contracting website stating an “immediate need” to establish the call center. They expect it to handle between 6,000 and 7,000 calls daily, all focused on locating minors.

Michael Lukens, executive director of the Amica Center for immigrant Rights, explained that the center won’t offer protection to children; it’s designed to make deportations easier. “There are a host of federal laws and programs that are supposed to protect unaccompanied children, and this administration has been actively trying to dismantle them,” he saeid.

Judith Clerjeune with the Tennessee Immigration Rights Refugee Coalition strongly criticized the call center, calling it another frightening tactic to separate families and communities. WKRN News 2 in Nashville reported on her concerns.

Immigrant children are already living in fear – afraid to go to school, or even being left home alone because their parents worry about deportation. This new call center will only worsen that anxiety and instability.