Congressional committees demands records from Nashville mayor on immigration enforcement

Yahoo

2 days ago

Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell requested detailed information about immigrants arrest in the city and what they were charged with. Now, immigration czar Tom Homan wants him investigated. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
In an escalation by Trump Administration officials and Republican lawmakers, two U.S. House committees have launched an inquiry into the response by Nashville's mayor and local officials to federal immigration enforcement activities.
A letter sent Thursday by the House Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees demands a series of documents from the office of Mayor Freddie O'Connell by June 12.
They include documents related to the mayor's executive order requiring city emergency personnel to report interactions with federal immigration officials within 24 hours. The committees are also demanding all communications between city officials and other organizations and individuals regarding federal immigration activities during the month of May.
The letter accuses the mayor of actions that 'threaten to chill immigration enforcement in the City of Nashville and Davidson County.'
O'Connell, during a regularly scheduled news conference on Friday, said he intends to 'appropriately respond.'
'There will be repercussions' Homeland Security official targets Nashville mayor over immigration
'I am not particularly concerned,' the mayor said in response to a reporter's question about the inquiry.
'We're going to respond appropriately to all inquiries, and we have been guided by a full understanding of state and federal law and we will continue to be,' he said.
The letter was sent to O'Connell the same day the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a list of hundreds of U.S. cities, counties and several states that Trump Administration officials accused of 'deliberately and shamefully obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration laws endangering American communities.'
Nashville, along with Shelby County in west Tennessee, was on the list.
But in a reversal over the weekend, the list was removed from the agency's website. Reuters reported Sunday that the list was taken down after DHS received pushback from the National Sheriff's Association, which issued a statement noting that local law enforcement had not been consulted before the sanctuary city list was made public and that it 'violated the core principles of trust, cooperation, and partnership with fellow law enforcement.'
On Friday, O'Connell held in his hand a copy of Tennessee law barring sanctuary status, a designation that typically limits cooperation between cities and federal immigration officials, noting that Nashville has not engaged in any of the actions barred by the legislation.
'By definition Nashville is not a sanctuary city,' the mayor said. 'We do not, nor have we ever had a policy that violates state law.'
'As we've stated several times in recent weeks, Metro (Nashville) does not have any legal authority as it relates to immigration enforcement and we do not impede federal law enforcement actions,' O'Connell said. 'In fact we regularly partner with state and federal agencies to take violent criminals off our streets. This is the reality.'
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O'Connell also noted that both violent and property crimes in Nashville are significantly down from prior years.
The mayor's remarks came at the end of a week marked by escalating attacks against him by top federal immigration officials as well as Tennessee Republican Rep. Andy Ogles.
During a Memorial Day press conference, Ogles accused O'Connell, a Democrat, of 'aiding and abetting illegal immigration.'
Subsequently, White House 'border czar' Tom Homan warned that immigration agents would 'flood the zone' in Nashville seemingly in retaliation for the mayor's perceived political stance against mass immigration detainments.
And on Thursday a Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary for public affairs accused O'Connell of 'harboring' immigrants without legal status and 'doxxing' immigration enforcement agents.
O'Connell has drawn the ire of Republicans for two actions: during mass immigration stops in Nashville earlier this month, O'Connell issued a revised executive order requiring the city's emergency personnel – and some non-emergency employees – to report any interaction with federal immigration officials within 24 hours.
The city then posted a list of those interactions on its web site. Initially the names or partial names of four federal immigration staffers appeared on that list in error, city officials said. The names have since been removed.
O'Connell also publicized a fund established by the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee to assist family members of those detained by immigration authorities. While Trump Administration officials accused O'Connell of using public funds to support immigrants without legal status, the fund operates only with private donations, a foundation spokesperson said.
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