Latest news with #O'Connell's
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Amid ICE criticism, Nashville makes list of 'sanctuary jurisdictions' by Homeland Security
Nashville is included on a new list of 'sanctuary jurisdictions' that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security claims are violating federal immigration law — despite Nashville not being classified as a sanctuary city. DHS appears to have published the list on May 29. According to the DHS website, a 'sanctuary jurisdiction' is a city, county or state that is 'deliberately and shamefully obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration laws endangering American communities.' The website says so-called sanctuary jurisdictions are determined by factors like compliance with federal law enforcement, information restrictions and legal protections for undocumented immigrants. There are only two 'sanctuary jurisdictions' listed in Tennessee — Nashville and Shelby County. DHS says each jurisdiction will receive formal notification of its non-compliance with federal statutes. 'DHS demands that these jurisdictions immediately review and revise their policies to align with federal immigration laws and renew their obligation to protect American citizens, not dangerous illegal aliens,' the DHS website reads. It's not immediately clear why Nashville — or any jurisdiction in Tennessee — is included on the list, given that neither has self-identified as a sanctuary city. In Tennessee, sanctuary cities have been banned for about seven years, and another state law passed earlier this year criminalizes local officials who support sanctuary policies for immigrants. Meanwhile, though some local officials have criticized federal immigration enforcement action, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement recently collaborated with the Tennessee Highway Patrol to conduct a weeklong operation in Nashville, which resulted in nearly 200 arrests. Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell was critical of ICE during the operation, asking repeatedly for the release of the names and charges of the individuals arrested in Nashville and updating an existing executive order requiring city departments to report communications with federal immigration authorities to the mayor's office on a shorter timeline. The latter action has come under scrutiny from Republicans in Washington, D.C., who have vowed to open congressional investigations into O'Connell's conduct and potentially even ramp up immigration enforcement actions in Nashville. Austin Hornbostel is the Metro reporter for The Tennessean. Have a question about local government you want an answer to? Reach him at ahornbostel@ Get Davidson County news delivered to your inbox every Wednesday. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville among 'sanctuary jurisdictions,' Homeland Security says
Axios
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Tenn. Republicans criticize Nashville mayor after ICE operation
Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell has faced a barrage of criticism from Tennessee Republicans for his response to the intense immigration enforcement operation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents earlier this month. Why it matters: The situation threatens to fray relationships between O'Connell and top Republicans. Catch up quick: According to the Department of Homeland Security, ICE arrested 196 people in Nashville during its recent operation, including 95 people with prior criminal records. As part of the operation, ICE partnered with the Tennessee Highway Patrol, which conducted late-night and early-morning traffic stops on South Nashville streets home to large immigrant populations. Driving the news: In the wake of the ICE arrests, O'Connell said at a press conference, "Their approach is not our understanding of what a 'Nashville for all of us' looks like." He also announced the creation of a new Belonging Fund, managed by the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. Metro hasn't committed money to the fund, which had raised $240,000 as of Thursday. O'Connell also updated a preexisting executive order requiring Metro agencies to report communications with federal immigration officials. His update moved up the required reporting time from three days to 24 hours. He says the purpose of that order is for Metro officials to be informed, not to tip people off that ICE could be coming. Finally, O'Connell's office pushed for details on the people detained and their charges. So far, the federal government has only released a few names and specific charges. What they're saying: Republicans including Sen. Marsha Blackburn and state Rep. Johnny Garrett chimed in on social media with criticisms of O'Connell's reaction. "ICE is making our communities safer while left-wing mayors protect illegal aliens," Blackburn posted on X. Friction point: The harshest criticism has come from U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles, a Republican who represents a portion of Nashville. He sent a letter to the House Judiciary and Homeland Security committees Friday urging them to investigate O'Connell over the executive order. "Instead of applauding the heroic efforts of law enforcement for removing violent criminals, drug traffickers, and even a convicted child sex predator from our streets, Nashville's mayor chose to grandstand — penning an executive order directing city agencies to track and potentially undermine cooperation with ICE," Ogles said. Zoom out: The Trump administration's strict immigration policy has created tension, and in some cases legal issues, with local officials. A Wisconsin judge pleaded not guilty this week to federal charges that she helped an undocumented man evade arrest. The mayor of Newark, New Jersey, was arrested this month after a protest at an ICE facility. Between the lines: Other Tennessee Republicans, such as Gov. Bill Lee and U.S. Rep. John Rose, have couched their responses, praising the Trump administration for enforcing immigration law, but not specifically calling out O'Connell. The other side: At his weekly media availability Friday, O'Connell pushed back on the criticism. "The reality is we are doing three things here on the ground in Nashville: We are fighting crime, we are protecting Nashvillians and we are operating the city," he said. O'Connell touted his investments in public safety and the city's policing stats, which show violent crime is down 8.5% and property crime is down 8.2% year over year. The bottom line: O'Connell said he's worked "intentionally" to build working relationships with the state since he was elected. He mentioned transportation, economic development and education as areas where collaboration is important.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
More MNPS students are graduating, but are they future ready? Data says 'No'
Just how good was Metro Nashville Public Schools' graduation rate last year? Well, it depends on who you ask. For Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell, the 85.7% rate—the highest since the district has been keeping track of how many students end their careers with a diploma — was so good he felt the need to mention it several times during his State of Metro Address on May 1. And there's the MNPS administration — masters as they are at cherry picking data to support a narrative focusing on 'improvements' and 'level 5 status' and 'every child being known.' But if you ask anyone who's paying attention — who knows, perhaps, how to navigate the dashboard for the Tennessee Department of Education's State Report Card — they know that, while MNPS's graduation rate certainly isn't bad, it isn't exactly good either. If nothing else, it's misleading. Understand: Tennessee doesn't just track graduation rates. The Department of Education also tracks a statistic called 'ready graduate,' which 'reflects the percentage of graduating students who demonstrated readiness for postsecondary education and/or a career after high school.' The graduation rate cited by O'Connell during his address is from the 2023-24 school year, but because the State Report Card's data lags a year, the 'ready graduate' rates from 2023-24 are not yet available. But we do have data from the year before. And even if we assume a slight bump in 'ready graduate' rates to account for the 4.5-percentage point increase in graduation rate over the same period, the numbers would still be abysmal. That's because the "ready graduate" rate for the 2022-23 school year is 34.2%, meaning barely a third of graduating students were adequately prepared for the future. For Black, Hispanic and Native American students, the rate drops to 23.8%. For the economically disadvantaged, it's 20.6%. 'I want all of us to have more of the things we need,' O'Connell said during the address, including 'schools we're proud of.' As a Nashvillian who cares about all children in the city, including those who are not my own, I can appreciate O'Connell's sentiment. I also understand that the kind of progress MNPS needs to make can't happen overnight, and that O'Connell's 2025-26 proposed budget includes an increase in MNPS funding meant to directly address issues like student achievement. But to paint MNPS as an overall success for graduating 85.7% of students in the interim, or to even tout the district's record-high graduation rate without acknowledging how few of those students are on track to become economically independent adults, is to engage in the dissemination of propaganda and willful manipulation. That wasn't the approach O'Connell took when he addressed the hike in Nashville property values (an average increase of 45%), which will naturally result in higher property taxes. For the blessed residents who own their homes in this booming market, he still managed to addressed the pro and the con, speaking directly to homeowners' greatest concerns. Opinion: Tennessee student athletes deserve better, but state takeover isn't the answer Yet the same cannot be said for the people for whom Nashville, and MNPS, are less effective. These are the people who need the schools to work for them — and, perhaps more importantly, need to know when they're not. After all, the trouble with the Tuskegee Experiment wasn't just that doctors denied treatment to the men suffering with syphilis. It was that those doctors led those poor Black men to believe they were, in fact, being treated. During his address, O'Connell mentioned that Nashville has been called a beacon by other cities because thousands of us came together to pass the transit bill last November. It's a moment O'Connell is clearly proud of, and one that will likely define his legacy for years to come. But for the sake of students across the city, my prayer is that Nashville will one day become a beacon because our city chose to buck the status quo that large, urban school districts will disproportionately fail the Black, Brown, and poor among them. I pray that thousands of us can come together to ensure the educational and vocational futures of the students who don't attend Nashville's excellent academic magnet schools, who don't have access to after-school tutors, and who don't have white collar parents with college degrees who can easily assist their children with their homework in the evenings. But that's only possible if we demand, collectively, that all 85.7% of our graduating high schoolers be prepared to attend college or pursue a post-secondary certification that will position them for well-paying careers and financial stability. And that's only possible when we know that, right now, only a third of them are. Andrea Williams is an opinion columnist for The Tennessean and curator of the Black Tennessee Voices initiative. She has an extensive background covering country music, sports, race and society. Email her at adwilliams@ or follow her on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @AndreaWillWrite and BlueSky at @ This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: MNPS graduation rates hide truth of student unpreparedness | Opinion
Axios
01-05-2025
- Business
- Axios
O'Connell calls for tax increase in $3.8B budget
Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell is proposing to raise property taxes by about 26% as part of his $3.8 billion operating budget. Why it matters: Property owners would pay more taxes. The tax increase has already garnered pushback from conservative groups, and sets up another gritty political battle for O'Connell. Between the lines: Nashville leaders have raised property taxes just twice since 2005. The most recent increase was in 2020, when the rate went up 34%. Metro insiders expected an increase this year. A 2023 study concluded Nashville had one of the lowest tax rates among major cities in the nation. O'Connell's budget, including the tax increase, will likely garner enough support within the Metro Council to pass. What he's saying: The mayor outlined his budget during Thursday's State of Metro speech at the downtown public library, while directly addressing protesters — including one dressed as a cow and another as the grim reaper — who lined the sidewalk outside. "Many of you undoubtedly walked past folks this morning who believe that property tax going up for any Nashvillian by any amount is unnecessary — just more government spending," he said. "These are the same people celebrating the chaos of federal cuts — which, make no mistake, are NOT about efficiency." "What they won't tell you is that what they're proposing means we wouldn't fund our schools, services and safety," O'Connell continued. Context: The process of setting a tax rate is especially confusing during property appraisal cycles, which take place every four years. Assessor of Property Vivian Wilhoite's office concluded the average countywide increase was 45%. But that doesn't mean property taxes are going up 45%. The state requires appraisals to be revenue neutral for local governments. Under a process called equalization, the tax rate is therefore reduced by about 45%. By the numbers: The current combined rate for urban and other areas is $3.254 per every $100 of assessed value. The equalized rate will be $2.222. O'Connell is proposing a rate of $2.814, which constitutes an increase of 26.64%. To figure out your tax bill, determine the assessed value of your home (25% of the total appraised value). Divide the assessed value by 100, and then multiply by the proposed tax rate of $2.814. Metro also has a tax calculator on its website. According to Zillow, the average Nashville home value is $436,048, which would lead to an annual bill of $3,068 under O'Connell's proposal. If there was no tax increase, the same bill would be $2,422. Zoom out: Though his budget does not include many new big-spending items, he did commit additional funding for schools and housing. O'Connell proposed a 13% bump in schools' funding, primarily to pay for college and career readiness, tutoring and summer learning, mental health programs and school safety. He also committed $45 million to affordable housing initiatives outlined in the recently released Unified Housing Strategy. The bottom line:"This is a basic, common-sense budget that follows a 2025 budget in which we asked each department to reduce spending," O'Connell said.
Axios
01-05-2025
- Business
- Axios
Nashville mayor's $3.8 billion budget plan focused on "basics"
Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell on Thursday pledged to focus on "the basics" in his proposed $3.8 billion budget, which would be funded in part by bigger property tax bills for homeowners. Why it matters: O'Connell's budget is built around fundamental city services, such as building schools, patching potholes and picking up trash. But, he said, it reflects the tough reality that those things are getting more expensive. What he's saying:"This is a challenging budget to prepare because there are so many financial variables," O'Connell said during his annual State of Metro speech, which touted many of his budget priorities. "Our national economic outlook is murky. We're phasing out hundreds of millions of dollars of one-time federal COVID relief funding. And we're experiencing an unpredictable overall federal funding outlook." Yes, but: O'Connell strove to project an optimistic tone, saying his budget would continue positive momentum for Nashville on several fronts. "School performance is up," he said. "Crime is down. People want to be here. And we want to make it easier to stay." Education: The biggest slice of the local budget proposal is education, which would account for more than a third of the city's spending. That includes $64.5 million to continue pandemic-era programs for mental health, college preparation and other initiatives that are running out of emergency COVID funds. There is also new funding for security upgrades, 23 new school resource officers and a $15 million infusion to put a nurse in every school. Housing: O'Connell wants to follow a new report on the city's housing shortage with $45 million to fund housing projects. That total includes multiple efforts to chip away at homelessness and $1.7 million to help older residents pay for repairs needed so they can stay in their homes. The big picture: President Trump's deep cuts to federal spending — and the way those cuts impact Nashville — were a prominent theme during O'Connell's speech, which took place at the downtown library. In addition to massive hits to local hospitals and nonprofits, $14 million in grants already allocated to the city were "ghosted," O'Connell said. The audience cheered loudly when O'Connell vowed to fight back.
