Nashville ICE arrests roil protests, fears, calls for investigation. Here's what to know.

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An early May operation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Nashville has driven controversy, protests and tensions between local, state and federal officials.
Over the course of a week, ICE worked with the Tennessee Highway Patrol to make 468 traffic stops and arrest nearly 200 immigrants around south Nashville. Mayor Freddie O'Connell, advocacy groups, Metro Council members and others have raised questions and concerns over the operation. O'Connell has in turn come under fire from Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles and other D.C. Republicans, who called for an investigation into him over his response to the situation.
Here's what to know as questions remain over the operation, who it affected and what happens next.
More: What to know about how Mayor O'Connell responded to Nashville ICE operation
The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security called the immigration arrests a "public safety operation" that focused on "areas with a history of serious traffic crashes and suspected gang activity." ICE said that 196 immigrants were arrested and that the operation focused on identifying those with criminal histories. The agency said the action stemmed from its "commitment to public safety and the rule of law."
Of the 196 arrested, an ICE spokesperson said 95 had prior criminal convictions or pending criminal charges. Additionally, 31 of those arrested were previously removed from the U.S. and reentered the country illegally. ICE later provided a few more details on those arrested, including two with gang affiliations, one with a long history of removals from the U.S. and convictions for felony domestic assault and sex with a minor, and another convicted of rape.
The operation ran from about May 3-10. As of May 29, six of the people arrested had been named by officials.
'We're not criminals': Nashville immigrant, 19, went out for ice cream, ended up detained by ICE and sent to Louisiana
THP and the Tennessee Department of Homeland Security partnered with federal ICE agents to coordinate the weeklong operation. The highway patrol is now under an official agreement with ICE, giving it authority to carry out federal duties like jail and warrant enforcement. However, that agreement was not officially approved until May 13, after the operation ended.
Outside Nashville, efforts to remove undocumented immigrants have also ramped up as several counties have partnered with ICE, including Sumner, Giles, Knox, Greene, Hamilton and Putnam counties. Nationwide, ICE has agreements with nearly 600 agencies across 39 states.
What to know: What agencies are behind the Nashville ICE operations and how they work
As the ICE operation unfolded, Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell and the city's legal director, Wally Dietz, repeatedly called for transparency from ICE about who had been arrested and what they'd been charged with.
On May 4, immigrant rights groups and community members gathered at Nashville's ICE office after dozens of traffic stops over the weekend. Several people from the group, which included children, chanted and carried signs as busses pulled out of the parking lot.
The next day, O'Connell held a news conference.
"The trauma inflicted on families is long-lasting, and I'm doing everything in my power consistent with applicable law to protect anyone who calls Nashville home," O'Connell said during the May 5 event. "What's clear today is that people who do not share our values of safety and community have the authority to cause deep community harm."
During the operation, O'Connell updated an existing executive order requiring city departments to report communications with federal immigration officials to the mayor's office. The update tightened the timeline for those reports. He also addressed community and Metro Nashville Council concerns about whether the Metro Nashville Police Department was involved in the operation.
Although the operations were conducted in Nashville, local agencies like Davidson County Sheriff's Office and Metro Nashville Police Department were not involved in the enforcement. A spokesperson with MNPD said the department provided additional patrols at ICE headquarters.
Metro Council members held an hourslong meeting on May 7 to address questions and concerns over the ICE operation. Leaders and community members questioned the operation's legality, the involvement of local police and the need for more transparency around immigration enforcement.
U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles, who accused the mayor of obstructing the ICE operation, has called for a federal investigation into O'Connell in the wake of the ICE arrests. Flanked by state and local lawmakers, Ogles hosted a news conference at the Tennessee Capitol in Nashville on the afternoon of Memorial Day. He repeated a call on two congressional committees — the House Judiciary Committee and the Homeland Security Committee — to open investigations into the mayor.
Ogles decried past U.S. presidents for letting a "flood of illegals" into the country and rattled off a list of crimes he said involved undocumented immigrants in Nashville, saying several were arrested during the ICE operation. He repeated what ICE officials said about those arrested having gang affiliations, prior removals from the U.S. and convictions for domestic assault, sex with a minor and rape. He also spoke about recent arrests in Middle Tennessee that were not part of the operation that he said involved gangs, sex rings, drug and human trafficking, murder and more.
'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.
Other D.C. Republicans added their voices to the calls to investigate O'Connell. However, as of May 29, it was not clear if an official federal investigation had been opened.
Advocates plan to maintain their efforts to support, protect and guide immigrants while navigating an ever-evolving legal and political landscape on the state and federal level. One group, established well before the operation, continues to patrol Nashville streets to look for ICE activity. The group saw a surge in volunteers after the wave of arrests.
After the May 7 meeting, Metro Council members called for a number of actions, including redirecting funding in O'Connell's recent budget proposal from the MNPD toward a legal aid fund and ensuring that all city departments were in compliance with the mayor's executive order. District 17 Council Member Terry Vo also asked city officials to commit to creating a community safety plan within the 30 days following the meeting.
Meanwhile, Ogles and others have continued their call for investigations into O'Connell.
Metro Council Member David Benton has also called for an investigation of his own, asking for a state and federal audit of The Belonging Fund. The fund was launched by the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee on May 5 to support child care and transportation costs, and address housing assistance and food insecurity for immigrant families.
O'Connell previously said the city itself likely couldn't contribute to the fund and also that the fund wouldn't support immigration legal services. Benton wants clarity on that matter, saying it would run afoul of federal laws against harboring undocumented immigrants. He called for O'Connell to choose between "criminals or the innocent taxpayers."
Benton represents District 28, which includes part of the area where the recent ICE operation was concentrated.
Reach reporter Rachel Wegner via email at [e-mail].
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville ICE arrests: What to know as questions persist