HHS Unveils The Number Of Immigrant Children That Have Recently Arrived In Chattanooga

Representative Chuck Fleischmann and Senator Marsha Blackburn / Marsha Blackburn Twitter – Background Photo Credit: Wilson Air Center Chattanooga

Published May 24, 2021

The Tennessee Conservative Staff –

Chatanooga, TN – The U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) responded to inquiries from News Channel 9 on the flights of immigrant children that are being smuggled into Chattanooga under the cloak of darkness. 

News Channel 9 shared the HHS email which reads: 

 “ORR (Office of Refugee Resettlement)’s mission is to safely care for unaccompanied children until they can be unified with a vetted sponsor, usually a parent or close relative. As part of the unification process, ORR is currently facilitating travel for the children in ORR’s custody to their sponsors to prevent any delays. Their parents and relatives are located across the United States, and ORR contractors use various transportation modes to unite unaccompanied children with their families, including air and ground transportation options, taking into account child safety and wellness, travel time, and cost-effectiveness.” 

HHS shared links to charts from the Office of Refugee Resettlement that display the number of unaccompanied children released to sponsors by State and by County. 

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The state chart shows information going back to October of 2014.  Specifically for October 2020 to March 2021, it shows that 717 unaccompanied children were released to sponsors in the state of Tennessee. 

The county chart only shows information for the time period of October 2020 to March 2021 and it also only displays three Tennessee counties. 

TOTAL NUMBER OF UC RELEASED TO SPONSORS IN FY21 (THRU MARCH 2021) 

Davidson County: 290 

Shelby County: 128 

Hamilton County: 66 

Last week Senators Marsha Blackburn, Bill Hagerty and Representative Chuck Fleischmann sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas asking for transparency after the Biden Administration has been transporting illegal unaccompanied minors to Tennessee. 

Congressman Fleischmann posted on his Facebook page, “Sen. Blackburn and I demand answers and accountability from the Biden Administration regarding the relocation of migrant children into Chattanooga.” 

In a video Blackburn posted on her Twitter page, she said that she and Fleischmann are working to “get to the bottom of this.  Planes being flown into Chattanooga under the veil of darkness and migrant children being moved from planes; put on buses and then transported to other locations.” 

Congressman Fleischmann said, “Senator Blackburn and I share a common concern, that is our border security.  That is addressing the crisis at the border from a humanitarian standpoint.  But, when we think of the fact that we have been left in the dark, as the elected public officials in our great Republic.  The Administration has not been forthright in terms of telling us what is going on.” 

“It’s a problem in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  It’s a problem in the state of Tennessee.  And it’s a problem all across the United States,” Fleischmann stated. 

Blackburn said, “President Biden should be willing to come forward and let people know what it is, that is happening, and how taxpayer dollars are being used to move those that have illegally entered the country.  They’re being used to move them around the country.”