ICE, State Troopers Make 150 Stops, Detain and Remove Dozens of People from South Nashville
An unknown number of people were detained in traffic stops and surrendered to federal immigration authorities, then bused out of state, in the first sweep of its kind in Nashville
by Sarah Grace TaylorMay 4, 2025
The Tennessee Highway Patrol and federal immigration officials descended upon Nashville’s predominantly Latino neighborhoods in the wee hours of Sunday morning, making around 150 traffic stops, detaining an unknown number of people and quickly bussing some to out-of-state immigration centers.
With a wide net and frenetic pace, the federal agencies detained between 40 and 100 people, some drivers and some passengers, and hauled them to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office off Brick Church Pike. THP said the operation targeted “areas with a history of serious traffic crashes and suspected gang activity,” and resulted in “a few” warrant-related arrests.
Neither THP nor federal authorities on the scene Sunday would provide the number of people detained related to citizenship.
Throughout the day on Sunday, large charter buses removed at least two batches of people, accoring to two sources on the scene relocating them to a federal immigration detention center in Louisiana for processing, raising concerns about due process and leaving families with little to no information about their loved ones.
ICE Deputy Field Officer Brian Acuna declined to answer questions about the operation, and ICE’s Office of Public Affairs did not respond to a list of questions.
Activists pleaded for information and attempted to stop the buses.
On Sunday, organizations like Remix Tennessee and the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition condemned the broad attacks on neighborhoods with large immigrant populations.
“Arbitrarily rounding up parents on their way home and workers traveling to their jobs does not make Nashville safer or stronger,” TIRRC said in a statement late Sunday. “Instead, it shatters families, erodes trust in law enforcement, and leads to fear, trauma and isolation that weakens the collective fabric of our community.”
The arrests
The sweeps happened on busy state roads, like Nolensville Road and Harding Place, in predominantly Latino neighborhoods. An Uber driver with passengers returning from a night out, a driver delivering food and a car full of 18-year-olds were among those pulled over.
Many drivers and at least one passenger were surrendered to ICE during the stops when suspected of being unlawfully present in the United States, based on identification.
Ashley Warbington, a volunteer with Remix Tennessee, was monitoring the Migra Watch line overnight when the ICE presence was first reported around 1:30 a.m. Warbington spent about three hours observing the traffic stops, which appeared to be “random or maybe racially profiling.”
“They were quick. Like someone was either detained or let go almost instantly,” Warbington told the Banner. “And once they left one stop, it was almost immediate that their blue lights were on again.”
In each case, a THP patrol vehicle would initiate a traffic stop, followed by two unmarked vehicles — one dark colored SUV and one dark colored sedan, like a Dodge Charger, according to Warbington. THP would inquire whether the driver and, on at least one occasion, the passengers, had driver’s licenses.
An unmarked gray Dodge sedan and a gray Subaru SUV matching the description of one of the stops were present, and police lights were displayed at the ICE field office on Sunday after Warbington gave her description.
Witness videos reviewed by the Banner corroborate Warbington’s description and show several different, brief traffic stops fitting that description.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol responded to inquiries from the Banner with an emailed statement.
“The Tennessee Highway Patrol partnered with federal agencies, including HSI and ICE, for a public safety operation in Davidson County — in areas with a history of serious traffic crashes and suspected gang activity,” the statement read.
The department did not provide specifics about the number of arrests or detainments, but reported making approximately 150 traffic stops in the operation, resulting in “a few arrests for outstanding warrants,” and adding that “illegal guns and drugs were also recovered, including from individuals suspected of gang affiliation.”
A DHS officer onsite at the field office told the Banner Sunday that they were unable to provide specifics of who coordinated the operation, but it was “someone within ICE” that was “above [their] pay grade,” adding that they “don’t have information” on who initiated the coordination with the state.
THP similarly seemed to leave the immigration side of the operation to ICE, noting that “in several cases, drivers did not carry valid licenses or identification. Federal agents handled those situations, including immigration-related matters.”
All eyes on U.S. v. Skrmetti: Trump DOJ Supports Tennessee
Mar 27, 2025 by FACT
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At the end of last year, due to an appeal from the Biden administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ), the US Supreme Court reviewed the constitutionality of Tennessee’s 2023 “Help Not Harm” bill (SB1), which protects children from dangerous so-called “gender-affirming care” procedures. After the hearing in December, proponents of the bill remained optimistic that the Supreme Court would uphold the law and defend the constitutionality of measures restricting such medical intervention, which have been passed in 25 other states. In early February, the Trump administration’s DOJ made an interesting course-correction in this pivotal case.
“Last year, the United States filed briefs contending that SB1 violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The United States advanced the same position at oral argument. Following the change in Administration, the Department of Justice has reconsidered the United States’ position in this case. The purpose of this letter is to notify the Court that the government’s previously stated views no longer represent the United States’ position,” the DOJ wrote.
Here’s where it gets interesting: Trump’s DOJ didn’t just reverse the United States’ position in this case; they urged the Supreme Court to still issue a ruling on it to set a precedent for other cases that will involve the same issues.
“The United States believes that the confluence of several factors counsels against seeking to dismiss its case in this Court. The Court’s prompt resolution of the question presented will bear on many cases pending in the lower courts,” the letter continued.
The Court is expected to issue a ruling in June.
Tennessee’s Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti commended the DOJ’s letter, reemphasizing the purpose of SB1 and its continued importance: “A bipartisan coalition of Tennessee’s elected lawmakers reviewed developing medical evidence and prohibited gender transition procedures for kids, procedures that are life-altering and often irreversible. This commonsense protection for minors parallels similar moves in half of the States as well as a growing number of European countries. We commend President Trump for abandoning the previous administration’s effort to enshrine gender ideology into the Constitution and prevent the people’s elected officials from resolving these important and contentious issues.”
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Trump's first judicial nomination of second term is a Tennessean
(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump picked an attorney in the Tennessee attorney general's office for a spot on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Whitney Hermandorfer is currently the director of the Strategic Litigation Unit in the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office. If confirmed by the Senate, she will fill a judicial vacancy left by Judge Jane Branstetter Stranch, who announced in January she was taking senior status. The court is based in Cincinnati and hears cases from Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky and Michigan.
“The atate of Tennessee has trusted Whitney Hermandorfer over and over with complex cases of national significance. She has never let us down," said Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti on Friday. "Her leadership of Tennessee's Strategic Litigation Unit sets a high bar of excellence at every level of the federal judiciary, all the way up to the Supreme Court of the United States."
Kentucky Attorney General Russel Coleman said Hermandorfer has been an advocate.
“As neighbors to the north, our office has been grateful for Whitney’s partnership as we uphold our laws and the Constitution. Whitney was one of the brilliant advocates behind our lawsuit to protect women’s sports, and her ability to see around legal corners led to key victories all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court," Coleman said in a statement.
Homeschool team wins state Science Olympiad Tournament
by: Rachel Saurer Posted: Apr 22, 2025 / 06:14 PM MDT
(COLORADO SPRINGS) — A homeschool group in Colorado Springs has won the state title in a Science Olympiad tournament for both middle and high school.
The Science Olympiad is a nationwide STEM competition, providing standards-based challenges to 6,600 teams at 425 tournaments in all 50 states. This latest competition was on April 5 at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS), and Homeschool Science Colorado took home the gold.
“I feel ecstatic about it,” said Lydia Wickerham, who is in Division C of the Science Olympiad. “None of us were really expecting it this year.”
Cindy Puhek, head coach of the homeschool team, said the teams won the tournament against 30 other teams in each division that represented schools from all across the state. This is the third time the high school division has won the title, but the first time for the middle school division since 2021.
“It really is teamwork,” Puhek said. “You have to do well across all 23 events to win, so you have to have everybody committed.”
While most students are already accustomed to deadlines and working with others, Puhek said this is a challenge that homeschool students in general must overcome.
And the beat goes on...................
Two weeks into what prosecutors hoped would be a shorter trial, distinctions about evidence and long sidebars have contributed to the lack of pace
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