U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles, others call for probe into Nashville mayor over ICE operation
Flanked by state and local lawmakers, U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles on Memorial Day repeated a call to investigate Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell and said the mayor obstructed a U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement operation in early May.
Nashville is weeks removed from the weeklong immigration enforcement operation, during which ICE and the Tennessee Highway Patrol made 468 traffic stops and arrested nearly 200 immigrants. The ICE sweeps were concentrated in south Nashville, in neighborhoods around Nolensville Pike and Harding Place with a large population of immigrants and Latino residents.
Ogles' call to investigate O'Connell is not new — he called on two congressional committees, the House Judiciary Committee and the Homeland Security Committee, to open investigations into the mayor and other city officials during a May 14 Department of Homeland Security briefing on Capitol Hill.
On Memorial Day inside the Tennessee State Capitol, Ogles decried past presidential administrations for letting a 'flood of illegals' come into the country and described a visit to CECOT, the El Salvador prison where the Trump administration has been sending purported members of crime gangs Tren de Aragua and MS-13. He also rattled off a list of crimes involving undocumented immigrants in Nashville, several of whom were arrested as part of the recent ICE operation.
'When a mayor stands up and is defending those types of individuals over our hard-working law enforcement — Homeland Security, ICE, THP, the sheriff's department and the city — he's choosing criminals over Tennesseans,' Ogles said.
In a social media post following the news conference, Ogles clarified that he's looking for the following documents and communications as part of the investigation:
The recent amendment to Executive Order 30 requiring city departments to inform the mayor's office within a certain time frame after communicating with federal immigration authorities, which Ogles called 'an outrageous directive.'
Any internal discussions or documents concerning ICE enforcement actions in Nashville or Davidson County.
All correspondence involving city employees and affiliated non-governmental organizations regarding the arrest or detention of undocumented immigrants in the city or county.
'If you're helping violent gangs destroy Tennessee by obstructing ICE — you belong behind bars,' Ogles' post concluded.
While O'Connell hasn't shied away from criticizing the ICE arrests, he's stated before that he understands the city's hands are tied when it comes to federal immigration operations and has previously told reporters that the amended order wouldn't allow his office to publicize operations like this one.
Ogles was joined by several Republican state lawmakers, including Sen. Jack Johnson (R-Franklin), Rep. Lee Reeves (R-Franklin), Rep. Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) and Rep. Kip Capley (R-Summertown). While she didn't attend, Sen. Marsha Blackburn also sent a letter in support of the event accusing Democrats of 'demonizing' law enforcement.
While many of them spoke, protesters banged on windows and shouted chants that continued throughout the news conference.
Metro Nashville Council Member David Benton was the sole local official to speak during the event. Benton represents District 28, which includes part of Antioch where the recent ICE operation was concentrated.
In part, Benton said he supports legal immigration but called it 'cruel' for city officials to encourage undocumented immigrants to remain in the country 'as if they can shield them in some sort of false pretense against ICE enforcement.'
Benton also made a call for an investigation of his own — he's asking for a state or federal audit of The Belonging Fund, launched by the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee on May 5. According to Community Foundation CEO Hal Cato, the fund is intended to support child care and transportation costs and address housing assistance and food insecurity for immigrant families.
O'Connell has previously clarified that the city itself likely couldn't contribute to the fund and also that the fund wouldn't support immigration legal services.
Benton, on Memorial Day, said he wanted to 'clarify whether any funds are inadvertently supporting and violating' the federal law against harboring undocumented immigrants. He called for O'Connell to choose between 'criminals or the innocent taxpayers.'
'Stop making a mockery of Memorial Day,' Benton said. 'Defend Nashville, defend Tennessee, defend this country and stop the invasion.'
Austin Hornbostel is the Metro reporter for The Tennessean. Have a question about local government you want an answer to? Reach him at ahornbostel@tennessean.com.
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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Rep. Andy Ogles calls for probe into Nashville mayor over ICE operation
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