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Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
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Congressional committees demands records from Nashville mayor on immigration enforcement
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.' U.S. border czar: Nashville mayor, a critic of immigration sweeps, now faces investigation 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. ogles-request-for-docs
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
‘There will be repercussions' Homeland Security official targets Nashville mayor over immigration
Agents from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency reach into a car to pull Edgardo David Campos out on May 9, 2025 in Nashville. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout) Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell continued to serve as a social media target for federal officials Thursday over his response to the mass detainments of immigrants in Nashville earlier this month. 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 — echoing comments made by Tennessee 5th District Congressman Andy Ogles the day before. 'It certainly looks like Mayor O'Connell was involved in some sort of obstruction or the harboring of criminal illegal aliens in the great city of Nashville,' Tricia McLaughlin said in a media interview posted on the official X account of the Department of Homeland Security. 'But also just last night his office put out the names of Homeland Security investigators and doxxed our ICE enforcement officers,' she said. 'They claimed it was a mistake. There's zero chance it was a mistake and there will be repercussions.' Late Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security published a list of cities, counties and states across the nation it said were 'deliberately and shamefully obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration laws endangering American communities.' The list came with this demand 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.' Nashville and Shelby County in west Tennessee, the county seat of Memphis, appear on the list, which was entitled 'Sanctuary Jurisdictions Violating Federal Immigration Law.' Neither Nashville nor Shelby County have adopted so-called sanctuary city policies, which are barred under Tennessee law. The accusations against O'Connell center on a longstanding executive order requiring city departments to report interactions with immigration officials. O'Connell revised the order in early May to require the reporting to take place within 24 hours. U.S. border czar: Nashville mayor, a critic of immigration sweeps, now faces investigation The revision took place in the midst of a joint operation by the Tennessee Highway Patrol and the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which led to the detainment of nearly 200 immigrants during traffic stops in South Nashville, a diverse neighborhood that is home to many of the city's immigrant communities. The majority of those detained had no criminal records. The mayor's order requires all emergency and some non-emergency city agencies and officials to report any interaction with federal immigration to the Mayor's Office of New and Indigenous Americans, a department created to foster civic participation. The department posted a spreadsheet with summaries of the interactions on its website. As of Wednesday, there were 35 interactions reported between city officials and immigration authorities in May. One entry identified an ICE analyst by first name. Two others listed the full names of Homeland Security Investigations officials. A fourth entry listed the full name of an immigration supervisor. By Thursday morning, the names had been removed from the city's website. A statement from the mayor's office said the names had been posted in error. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 'dragnet' in Nashville results in detentions 'It is not the normal practice to include the names of individuals in EO30 (the executive order) reporting. Any names mistakenly included have been removed.' Questions to the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday to clarify McLaughlin's comments about 'repercussions' for the mayor's actions went unanswered. The public comments about O'Connell by federal officials came a day after the announcement by White House 'border czar' Tom Homan that — as a result of O'Connell's public stance against the mass enforcement actions — multi-agency immigration crackdowns could soon return to Nashville. 'We'll flood the zone in the neighborhoods to find the bad guy. We'll flood the zone at work sites to find the bad guy, but we're going to do it, and he's (O'Connell) not going to stop us,' said Homan, the White House executive director of enforcement and removal operations. Earlier this week, Ogles held a press conference to denounce O'Connell, a Democrat, for 'aiding and abetting illegal immigration.' Ogles accused the Nashville mayor of obstructing the work of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, citing O'Connell's public statements and executive order. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
7 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Editor's notebook: U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles dishonors Memorial Day with political stunt
U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles, Republican of Tennessee's 5th District, at Memorial Day press conference with, from left, Reps. Kip Capley, Lee Reeves, Gino Bulso and Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout) Many Tennesseans, elected officials and regular people alike, used the Memorial Day holiday as it was intended: to honor the men and women who died in military service to the U.S. So it's not unusual to see a lawmaker holding forth on the solemn federal holiday. Among those Monday was U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles, Republican of Tennessee's 5th District, who held a press conference at the Tennessee Capitol. But Ogles and his fellow speakers didn't dwell on military service or the significance of the day, beyond a couple of throwaway comments to acknowledge that yes, it was Memorial Day. No, Ogles — who rarely makes public appearances in Nashville — opted to harangue the small group of reporters present about the perceived 'immigrant invasion' of Nashville and to denigrate Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell. There's much to take apart here, including that 'public' part of public appearance is doing a lot of work. The group included about 10 members of the media, all of whom had to RSVP after receiving an announcement about the event at 3:15 p.m. Friday. Not allowed in the Capital? Members of the media who didn't make it onto the list, protesters and even a visiting couple who just wanted to check out the digs. The congressman railed about 'his home,' presumably referring to Nashville. But Ogles grew up in Williamson County, lives in Maury County and was flanked at his press conference by three Williamson County lawmakers, one Lawrence County representative and one 'Nashville mother and victim of illegal alien gang violence.' Dr. Deborah Newitz, the latter, was the victim of a Williamson County home break-in by four men, who, she said, she later learned were 'part of an extensive organized nationwide group of South American illegal immigrants.' 'Among jewelry and cash, these men stole several family heirlooms and a box of inexpensive but irreplaceable Mother's Day gifts from my children made for me when they were young,' said Newitz. I don't condone break-ins, and I was the victim of one when I was home: it's terrifying and you lose your feeling of security. So I don't make light of Newitz's fear. But if the only crime victim Ogles could come up with was a resident of Tennessee's wealthiest county who kept talking about 'our mayor' — referring to O'Connell, when her mayor is Brentwood's Nelson Andrews — he's got weak sauce. Then, there's Ogles' weeks-long beef with O'Connell — not even news at this point — which stems from a recent two-week period during which U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement teamed up with the Tennessee Highway Patrol to conduct traffic stops in predominantly immigrant areas of Nashville. The agencies detained 196 immigrants who are allegedly in the country without permanent legal status. But are they really? We don't know, and neither does O'Connell, who has fired off letters to ICE demanding to get the names of those detained and what they have been charged with. Tensions run high among officials, community organizations after ICE enforcement in Nashville Bless O'Connell's heart. Even as Nashvillians on the left cry he's not done enough to push back on the feds, here's Ogles announcing the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security — which is chaired by Tennessee 7th District Rep. Mark Green, who did not attend the presser — and the U.S. House Judiciary Committee will investigate O'Connell's actions on the immigrant raids. Investigate O'Connell for what? Does the Judiciary Committee not have better things to do than spend resources to delve into the nefarious intentions of a strongly worded letter? Ogles made a mockery of Memorial Day by choosing to hold a xenophobic stunt and branding it as patriotic. More than 750 immigrants are recipients of the Medal of Honor — the highest award in the country recognizing military service members for acts of bravery and heroism above and beyond the call of duty. A calculation shows that over 21% of the 3,528 total recipients of the Medal of Honor have been immigrants. Many, though not all, Medal recipients receive the award posthumously, having died in service, and not all of the immigrants who received the award became naturalized citizens. And that's to say nothing of the 760,000 immigrants who, according to the Immigrant Learning Center, have served in the military over the last 100 years. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services reports having naturalized more than 187,000 members of the military since 2002, with 52,000 of those coming in the 2020-2024 period. It's incredibly unpatriotic of Ogles to hijack a revered federal holiday and spit in the faces of immigrants who have served this country for his political stunt. Ogles and his other guests, which included Metro Nashville Councilmember David Benton, Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson and Reps. Lee Reeves and Gina Bulso, all Williamson County Republicans, talked about immigration in terms of 'the rule of law.' I asked Ogles, during the brief question and answer session, about his own issues with the rule of law — he's been the subject of a federal investigation over allegations he violated federal campaign finance laws — but he quickly cut me off. Spectacles have become Ogles' thing. Days after President Donald Trump assumed his second term in office, Ogles proposed amending the 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to permit Trump a third term in office. He proposed a bill to strip the District of Columbia of home rule. These stunts may be his way of distracting from his finance irregularities and stories about his tendency to inflate his resume. Elected in 2022 in a gerrymandered district, he managed to beat back both a primary and general election challenger in 2024, but he's sure to have another strong primary opponent in 2026 and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has made Ogles a political target. He may find his stunts, disrespect of lawmakers in the district and attacks on immigrants turn out the 2026 vote — but not in a way that will favor him. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Lawsuit: Ex-Tennessee funeral director continued to exploit grieving immigrant families
The exterior of Saddler Funeral Home in Lebanon, one of two funeral homes at which Reid Van Ness was storing bodies he had promised to send to other countries. (Photo: John Partipilo) A Tennessee funeral director surrendered his license in 2020 after multiple complaints alleging he took money from immigrant families then failed to ship the remains of loved ones overseas for burial. Now, new legal filings in an ongoing federal lawsuit show the state's Department of Commerce and Insurance has received a 'litany of complaints' against Reid Van Ness for failing to deliver on promised funeral services to Spanish-speaking residents of Tennessee and Kentucky in the years after losing his license. Van Ness, the subject of a 2021 Tennessee Lookout investigation, was among a small number of Spanish-speaking funeral directors in Tennessee who offered services to families seeking to ship bodies for burial overseas. A Tennessee funeral director made promises to immigrant families; he didn't deliver The Lookout investigation found that Van Ness had instead left multiple bodies to decay in coolers in Middle Tennessee funeral homes for periods that ranged between two to 11 months while family members frantically pressed him for information about their loved ones' whereabouts. He falsified shipping documents, stopped answering families' calls and left some families waiting for months to bury family members, state records showed. Among the grieving and distraught families were the parents of an 18-month old infant who died in a Nashville hospital and the mother of a 17-year-old boy who died by suicide. At least five families filed suit against Van Ness and four funeral homes that agreed to store bodies for him. A state consumer alert issued in 2021 urged residents to report Van Ness to law enforcement after complaints he was approaching Spanish-speaking residents in Rutherford County to offer funeral services. Murfreesboro mortuary settles suit in corpse 'abuse' case Van Ness is now fighting the state in federal court to be able to continue to provide volunteer funeral service, arguing he has a First Amendment right to serve as a 'community death care advocate.' Van Ness claimed the state's Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers is illegally trying to restrict his freedom of religion by prohibiting him from participating in funeral services. He says he serves as a volunteer – a claim that is contrary to the complaints the board says it has received that Van Ness has accepted payment for his services. Van Ness 'is part of a growing national movement rethinking the practices, customs, and approaches surrounding death,' the lawsuit said. 'Mr. Van Ness shares his knowledge about end-of-life options with families to help them put their own end-of-life plan in place that is best for them and their loved ones. By engaging in these difficult but important conversation(s), he can give families the practical, emotional, and nontechnical support that funeral directors do not typically provide,' the lawsuit said. Lawsuits pile up against former funeral director An attorney representing Van Ness could not be reached for comment about the lawsuit. A spokesperson for the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, which oversees the state's funeral board, declined to comment on ongoing litigation. In their legal response, the Department of Commerce and Insurance noted it had received complaints about Van Ness accepting payments for bungled funeral services between 2021 and 2023 after he had surrendered his license. In 2022, the state funeral board warned Van Ness he could not speak to consumers seeking funeral services, medical examiners, or undertake any actions relating to providing funeral, embalming or securing grave plots in Tennessee. But throughout 2022 and 2023 the state's funeral board 'obtained evidence of various instances of Van Ness: accepting payment to arrange, manage, and perform funeral directing services; requesting to embalm and prepare loved ones of the deceased…and holding himself out as a licensed funeral director under another individual's name.' The lawsuit is scheduled for trial in June 2026. Reid Van Ness
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Memorial Day in Nashville
Scout leader Dustin Moneal, center. of Boy Scout Pack 1322 gathers flags to put on graves at the Nashville National Cemetery, which is administered by the U.S. Veterans Administration. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout) Members of Scouting USA, formerly Boy Scouts of America, traditionally place flags on graves in veterans cemeteries across the U.S. Tennessee Lookout photojournalist John Partipilo went to Nashville National Cemetery in Madison to document a local scout pack doing the 2025 honors. Land for the cemetery was purchased in 1866. In 1867, it opened and the first interments were of Civil War dead, transplanted from veterans hospital cemeteries in the region. There are more than 4,000 unknown dead interred in the cemetery, which is administered by the of Veterans Affairs. Collin Maddox, 26, dressed as a Continental soldier with the Sons of the American Revolution, holds flags for his group to start the process of placing flags on the graves at the Nashville National Cemetery. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout) Women Scouts from left, Lila West, 12, and Michelle Oakley from Troop 934 in Mt. Juliet, place flags at the Nashville National Cemetery. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout) Joe Baines walks through the Nashville National Cemetery wearing a a jacket featuring scouting patches he has saved. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout) Rhonda Bernhardt walks through flags at Spring Hill Cemetery in Madison, Tennessee. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout) James B. Hoyer holds flags for his troop to place on grave stones for Memorial Day. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
