U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) is demanding answers from the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS) after claiming his office has received whistleblower complaints suggesting that the state agency may be hiding large numbers of illegal alien children within the foster system.
On Thursday, Ogles posted a thread on social media detailing how, according to the whistleblowers, DCS has denied several public records requests related to missing children, illegal alien minors, and communication with federal authorities, which he argued raises concerns about transparency within the state agency.
🚨 Is the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services HIDING illegal alien children in the foster system and PAYING woke NGOs to get them amnesty? pic.twitter.com/FsArG4wQgS
— Rep. Andy Ogles (@RepOgles) December 4, 2025
“My office has received information from whistleblowers in the foster system and watchdogs sharing concerning facts that may indicate hundreds of illegal alien children are being hidden by Tennessee DCS,” Ogles wrote, sharing a photo of multiple records requests denied by DCS concerning the speculations.
“Tennessee DCS officially denied five major public records requests, all of which relate to illegal alien children being harbored…Why is DCS refusing to show any cases of missing children in the foster system? We need to know if these children are accounted for, especially if they are in non-traditional homes,” Ogles stressed.
Ogles went on to claim that policies supported by Democrats have enabled foreign cartels to send unaccompanied minors into the U.S., who then, he says, are funneled through the foster system and potentially placed in group homes tied to trafficking.
He questioned whether this could be occurring in Tennessee, pointing to how authorities have located more than 100 missing children in Memphis under the Trump administration’s Memphis Safe Task Force and questioning how many more children might be unaccounted for.
“Thanks to Democrats, cartels from foreign nations have been sending unaccompanied children to America to be picked up by the foster system and eventually placed in group homes used by traffickers. Is this happening in Tennessee?” he asked.
Pointing to DCS’ refusal to provide reports and communications with Health and Human Services (HHS) and other agencies regarding undocumented children in foster care, Ogles noted how under federal law, localities are required to turn over all undocumented children to the HHS Office for Refugee Resettlement (ORR).
“If DCS were not hiding illegal alien children, they should have no problem confirming whether they have communicated with ORR,” Ogles said.
Ogles further alleged that undocumented children may be routed through the foster system into unsafe placements and questioned whether DCS is actively using taxpayer money to fund legal services for these children through a non-governmental organization (NGO), Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors, that works on immigration cases.
“What is more concerning is whether Tennessee DCS is using federal and state taxpayer dollars to pay woke immigration lawyers to obtain special immigration status, meaning amnesty, for these illegal children. According to the Tennessee Checkbook, DCS has paid the woke NGO “Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors” TENS OF THOUSANDS of dollars in FY 2025. Their specialty is legal services for illegal aliens,” he said.
Pointing to another denied request about interstate transfers of children, Ogles argued that transparency is needed to ensure children – especially undocumented ones – are not being moved across state lines without oversight.
“If we are concerned about illegal alien children being trafficked through DCS, it is necessary to know if children are being moved out of the state…If DCS cannot tell us how many children are being moved across state lines and where they are going, that is a major problem,” Ogles said.
The congressman framed his concerns about DCS as a federal matter, noting that harboring illegal aliens violates federal law and that DCS receives substantial federal funding.
“I was elected to make sure federal dollars are not spent on amnesty,” Ogles said.
Ogles is demanding answers from DCS to the following four questions:
- Are there illegal alien children in Tennessee DCS custody?
- Are they being hidden from ICE?
- Does the Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement know about this?
- How many children are missing?
“Democrats sent millions of unaccompanied minors into the United States. President Trump is the only one trying to find them. If Tennessee DCS is avoiding transparency, imagine every other state. Where are the children? Tennesseans deserve answers. Stay Tuned,” Ogles concluded.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Rep. Andy Ogles” by Rep. Andy Ogles.
