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ICE Plans 24/7 Nashville Call Center to Help Track Unaccompanied Migrant Children

The proposal detailed in an ICE contracting notice would integrate partner data to process thousands of daily leads in a push to step up enforcement targeting minors.

People stand outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building, in Portland, Oregon, U.S., September 29, 2025. REUTERS/John Rudoff
FILE - A federal agent wears an Immigration and Customs Enforcement badge at the immigration court at Jacob K. Javits Federal Building in New York, on Monday, June 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)
FILE - A person walks near the stage during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) hiring fair in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)
FILE - A protester holds a sign as law enforcement officers stand outside a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Portland, Ore., on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

Overview

  • An ICE Request for Information outlines a National Call Center in Nashville to support law enforcement in locating unaccompanied children for possible removal.
  • Plans call for round-the-clock operations handling 6,000–7,000 calls per day and seek “enabling technology” to integrate partner and migrant data with ICE systems.
  • The notice cites an immediate need, with reporting indicating a potential March start and full operations by June 2026, subject to contracting and implementation.
  • A Department of Homeland Security official disputed elements of the reporting without details, and Nashville’s mayor’s office says it has not been contacted about the center.
  • Advocacy groups oppose the plan as harmful to child protections, noting it follows directives to track minors and a reported $2,500 voluntary-departure offer for some children.