Metro Nashville appears to quietly remove names from immigration report following GOP criticism
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Metro Nashville has apparently revised its public immigration report following pressure from Republican lawmakers who said the city endangered federal law enforcement officers.
A city document released earlier this month detailed 35 immigration-related interactions between Metro Police and federal agencies. The report initially named individuals, including a Metro Council member, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement analyst, and Homeland Security officers. However, as of Thursday, May 29, all those names have been removed from the public version of the report.
The revision follows criticism from state and federal Republican leaders who argued the publication of those names jeopardized agent safety.
Nashville criticized for sharing ICE interactions
State Rep. Johnny Garrett (R-Goodlettsville) was one of the most vocal critics, calling out Mayor Freddie O'Connell's executive order that requires Metro to document and publish ICE interactions.
'Freddie O'Connell is using taxpayer resources to endanger DHS and HSI officials,' Garrett wrote on social media platform X. 'His Trump Derangement Syndrome knows no bounds, and he ought to be ashamed of endangering those working to keep our communities safe.'
Garrett, along with U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), contended that the mayor's executive order could expose federal agents to threats. Both lawmakers support a state investigation, in addition to the federal probe that Ogles confirmed earlier this week.
According to Ogles, the Homeland Security and Judiciary committees will look into the mayor, his conduct and whether or not the city used federal dollars 'in criminal enterprise' related to immigration.
O'Connell has previously disputed claims that he and Metro leaders obstructed ICE agents.
Congressman Andy Ogles confirms federal investigation into Nashville mayor's office over illegal immigration
Other Tennessee Republicans have joined the call for action.
'It's also just impeding in other ways,' said state Rep. Lee Reeves (R-Franklin). 'We've got sanctuary city laws on the books here in Tennessee, and whether [O'Connell] has violated any of those laws, I think, deserves some looking into.'
Garrett doubled down, saying, 'Nashvillians should be irate. I think folks in Nashville should be calling for the mayor's resignation.'
He went further, suggesting the order itself may be illegal: 'Under his new revised executive order, in my opinion, is probably an illegal executive order because they're not reporting criminal activity to the courts. He is basically harboring…violating the law, he's still creating and wants Nashville to be a sanctuary city, and that's illegal in the state of Tennessee.'
Meanwhile, Homeland Security issued 'a comprehensive list of sanctuary jurisdictions that are deliberately obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration laws and endangering American citizens' Thursday, saying that the department is 'exposing these sanctuary politicians who harbor criminal illegal aliens and defy federal law.' Homeland Security demands the jurisdictions on the list — which included Nashville — revise their policies to align with federal immigration laws, as well as 'renew their obligation to protect American citizens, not dangerous illegal aliens.'
TN congressman criticized for social media post about Nashville Community Review Board
Reeves echoed Garrett's concern, warning that the policies could affect more than just Nashville: 'What happens in Nashville doesn't stay in Nashville. It bleeds over into other communities, and certainly I'm concerned about Brentwood and Franklin and Fairview and Thompson's Station.'
Reeves also said he agrees with other lawmakers who believe O'Connell should consider stepping down, describing the mayor's actions as 'putting criminals above the citizens of his city and his county.'
Garrett emphasized that public safety should transcend political lines: 'It should be easy. It shouldn't be a partisan issue, whether you're Republican or Democrat or don't identify with any party, that the public safety should be paramount and second to nothing, and this mayor is doing just that.'
News 2 reached out to O'Connell's office for comment on the document changes and the growing controversy. We have yet to hear back. News 2 has also reached out to Metro Legal and the Tennessee Attorney General for comment on Nashville's appearance in Homeland Security's list, but there has been no response yet.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
ICE conducts operations at Buona Forchetta restaurants in South Park
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced it conducted two worksite enforcement operations Friday in South Park. The incident occurred at Buona Forchetta and Enoteca Buona Forchetta at 30th and Beech Street, Yasmeen Pitts O'Keefe with the United States Department of Homeland Security confirmed in a statement to FOX 5/KUSI. San Diego police were also asked to assist with the incident by Homeland Security, according to authorities. Remains found at Torrey Pines State Beach identified as 10-year-old girl Multiple federal officials were seen standing in front of the Italian restaurant. The manager of Buona Forchetta told FOX 5/KUSI two workers were detained. Check back for updates on this developing story. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Feds arrest 36 Chinese, Taiwanese citizens in SoCal underground nightclub raid
Federal agents raided a nightclub early Friday and arrested 36 Chinese and Taiwanese citizens suspected of being in the country illegally, authorities said. Los Angeles Homeland Security officers, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and members of the El Camino Real Financial Crimes Task Force made the arrests during "an enforcement operation in an underground nightclub" according to a statement shared on X. A video shared by HSI Los Angeles shows an officer donning a vest in a parking lot before sunrise, before cutting to a daylight scene of a group of people huddled on the sidewalk outside a building, some with their heads bowed. Officers are shown handcuffing the individuals and loading them into white vans. It is not clear where the underground nightclub is located. Further details on the investigation were not immediately available. The role of the El Camino Real Financial Crimes Task Force in the raid was also unclear. The group is a multi-agency initiative of federal and state investigators focused on financial crimes in Southern California. Members include HSI Los Angeles, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California and the California Department of Justice. On Wednesday, an investigation involving the task force led to the arrest of 14 individuals — including San Fernando Valley and Glendale residents — who were accused of being part of a transnational criminal network that fraudulently obtained more than $25 million in COVID-19 relief funds. Read more: Arrests at Pomona Home Depot spark fear about labor crackdown amid L.A. fire recovery Friday's immigration enforcement action comes as ICE works to comply with President Trump's orders to ramp up the pace of arrests and deportations across the nation. On Thursday, the agency announced that it achieved its highest number of arrests in history this week. On Monday, HSI Los Angeles arrested 12 Mexican citizens on suspicion of being unlawfully present in the U.S. after they traveled in a small boat from Mexico to Long Beach. In April, an estimated two dozen day laborers were detained in a U.S. Customs and Border Protection action outside of a Home Depot in Pomona. Earlier in the year, CBP agents conducted a three-day raid in rural parts of Kern County targeting day laborers and Latino farmworkers. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Conservative group targets Utah Sen. Curtis over support for clean energy tax credits
The conservative Club for Growth is targeting Utah Sen. John Curtis over his support for clean energy tax credits, raising the stakes for Republican leaders as they scramble to pass their massive tax reconciliation bill. The fiscally conservative group will launch an ad series this weekend targeting a handful of GOP lawmakers over their policy stances at odds with President Donald Trump's massive budget framework. The ad taking aim at Curtis specifically focuses on his support for preserving some green energy tax incentives passed under the Biden administration through the Inflation Reduction Act. 'Republicans were elected up and down the ballot in 2024 to reverse disastrous Biden policies — not protect them,' said Club for Growth President David McIntosh. 'If the tax cut bill fails because John Curtis is against it in order to protect Biden giveaways, every family in Utah will be hit with the largest tax increase in history. We are confident his constituents in Utah will remind Sen. Curtis how misguided his approach is.' The 30-second ad, which will run statewide beginning on Sunday, claims Curtis is threatening Trump's plans to reverse former President Joe Biden's signature climate policies. The commercial specifically refers to the 1,038-page megabill making its way through Congress seeking to advance Trump's policies on the border, energy production, national defense and more. The budget resolution also contains extensions for a slew of tax cuts set to expire at the end of this year. The budget package greenlights about $4.5 trillion to extend the tax cuts previously approved in Trump's 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and make them permanent. To offset those costs, lawmakers must find at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts elsewhere. However, internal disagreements on where to cut spending has delayed progress on the bill as some Republicans push for deep cuts while others caution against them. One of the most controversial provisions tucked into the budget resolution is language repealing clean energy tax credits that were passed under the Biden administration with only Democratic support. Curtis is among those pushing to preserve some of those policies, particularly those dealing with nuclear energy, net-zero emissions, battery storage and more. The first-term senator has long centered his climate policies on clean energy solutions, suggesting earlier this week he will push for those changes as the Senate considers the bill. 'We must build a thoughtful, principled bill that doesn't pull the rug out from under American innovators,' a spokesperson for Curtis told the Deseret News. 'Doing otherwise risks freezing investment, delaying domestic production, increasing costs, and forfeiting our energy edge and national security to China and Russia.' The Club for Growth has previously targeted Curtis, spending millions of dollars on ad campaigns claiming the Utah senator is not conservative enough. But Curtis contends those big-money efforts by national groups have only boosted his message — arguing his victories over the last eight years have been a result of Utah voters rejecting out-of-state meddling in local elections. The ad campaign targets other Republicans who have threatened to vote against Trump's megabill, such as New York Reps. Mike Lawler and Nick LaLota, who pushed for expansions to federal deductions for state and local taxes paid, also known as SALT. While LaLota and Lawler have outright said they would vote against the reconciliation package if it didn't include those demands, Curtis has so far stopped short of saying he would reject the budget framework if it nixed green energy credits. Still, the Utah senator said he would fight to include them in the final bill. 'I think if I have anything to say about it, I'll make sure that we're taking into account our energy future,' Curtis said earlier this week.
