DHS calls out Nashville mayor after 196 arrests made during ICE operation
DHS reported that 95 of those arrested had prior convictions, and 31 were previously removed from the country and re-entered illegally.
By Caleb Wethington
Published: May 13, 2025 at 12:24 PM CDT|Updated: 2 hours ago
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - The Department of Homeland Security has released more information following an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Nashville.
Alongside the new information, DHS also called out Mayor Freddie O’Connell by saying, “Pro-open borders politicians—like Mayor O’Connell—would rather protect illegal aliens than American citizens.”
DHS reported that the joint operation between ICE and the Tennessee Highway Patrol resulted in 196 arrests. Of those arrests, 95 of them reportedly have prior criminal convictions and pending charges, and 31 were previously removed individuals who reentered the U.S. illegally.
DHS said that despite the joint operation’s “success in protecting Americans,” Mayor O’Connell “stands by pro-illegal policies, claiming that these operations were done by ‘people who do not share our values of safety.’”
DHS claims that attacks and demonization of ICE have resulted in officers facing a 413% increase in assaults.
“You would think all public officials would unite around DHS bringing violent criminal illegal aliens to justice and removing them from American communities. However, pro-open borders politicians—like Mayor O’Connell—would rather protect illegal aliens than American citizens,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “This operation resulted in getting gang members, sex offenders, and other violent criminals off Nashville‘s streets. President Trump and Secretary Noem will continue to stand with victims and the brave ICE agents who are on the frontlines making America safe again.”
Below is a list of five individuals and their charges, DHS shared, of the nearly 200 reported arrests:
- Jassim Jafaf Al-Raash, a 60-year-old undocumented immigrant from Iraq. Al-Raash’s criminal history includes convictions for rape to which he was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, and convictions for larceny and false imprisonment to which he was sentenced to 11 months imprisonment. He also has an arrest for failure to register as a sex offender. Al-Raash has a final order of removal dated September 1, 2021.
States are telling sheriffs whether they can — or can’t — work with ICE
By: Tim Henderson - May 14, 2025 5:00 am
"Iowa, Tennessee and Texas are among the states requiring cooperation with detainers."
Local sheriffs are on the front lines in deciding whether to participate in the Trump administration’s mass deportation plans. But states increasingly are making the choice for them.
More and more, sheriffs’ hands are tied no matter whether they do — or don’t — want to help with deportations, though they often get the blame when conservatives draw up lists of sanctuary cities.
“‘Naughty lists,’ as we call them, are not super helpful here,” said Patrick Royal, a spokesperson for the National Sheriffs’ Association. “We all know there are places like Colorado where you can’t [help with deportations], and places like North Carolina where you have to.”
Cooperation between sheriffs and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lies at the heart of the Trump administration’s immigration detention policy. The administration plans to punish noncooperative jurisdictions with funding cuts — though many legal experts agree that cooperation is voluntary unless state or local laws say otherwise.
Sheriffs, who typically run local jails, must decide what to do when faced with immigration detainers — requests from ICE to hold onto incarcerated people up to two extra days so ICE officers can show up and arrest them. ICE issues those detainers when the agency reviews fingerprints sent electronically for background checks as part of the jail booking process.
Otherwise, arrested suspects who post bond or are otherwise released by a judge might go free despite their immigration status, prompting ICE in some cases to pursue them in the community.
In North Carolina, Sheriff Garry McFadden ran on a platform of limiting cooperation with ICE when he was elected in Mecklenburg County, home to Charlotte, in 2018. But today, McFadden must comply with detainers because of a state law passed last year.
In a now-retracted Facebook post, U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis in late April accused Mecklenburg and several other North Carolina counties of “shielding criminal illegal immigrants” as sanctuary jurisdictions. Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, said in the post he was writing federal legislation to prosecute sanctuary jurisdictions.
“You can’t say we’re a sanctuary county and have state laws that say we have to work with ICE. You can’t have both,” McFadden said. He added that he’d like more choice about whether to comply with detainers. A federal funding cutoff would endanger important jail programs such as rape counseling, he said.
“Everybody’s focused on immigration like that’s the biggest fire, and nobody wants to address the other things. The losers will be the prisoners who need all these services we provide,” McFadden said.
You can’t say we’re a sanctuary county and have state laws that say we have to work with ICE. You can’t have both.
– Sheriff Garry McFadden, Mecklenburg County, N.C.
Conservative sheriffs in Democratic-controlled states also can be frustrated by state policy on detainers. Sheriff Lew Evangelidis of Worcester County, Massachusetts, said he’s been criticized for releasing prisoners wanted by ICE but sometimes has no choice: A 2017 state Supreme Court ruling prohibits holding prisoners based on detainers.
“If they [ICE] want this person and consider them a threat to public safety, then I want that person out of my community. I want to keep my community safe,” said Evangelidis. He supported a Republican-sponsored effort in the state legislature to allow 12-hour holds for ICE if a judge determines the prisoner is a threat to public safety, but the amendment was voted down in April.
States act on detainers
Many experts agree that ICE detainers can be legally ignored if states allow sheriffs to do that.
“That detainer request is just that, a request, it’s not a requirement,” said Cassandra Charles, a staff attorney at the National Immigration Law Center, which is opposing Louisiana’s lawsuit to reverse a court-ordered ban on cooperation between Orleans Parish and ICE.
The general counsel for the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association, Eddie Caldwell, agreed that the detainers are voluntary under federal law.
The association supports a state bill now under consideration that would require not only the 48-hour detention but also a notice sent 48 hours before release to let ICE know the clock is running. The proposal has passed the House.
The notification matters, Caldwell said, because there can be criminal proceedings that take weeks or months, so ICE in many cases doesn’t realize the 48-hour window has started.
Tillis’ office said the senator’s disagreement with McFadden, a Democrat, and other sheriffs is about that notification.
Lee's signature officially abolishes Human Rights Commission
(The Center Square) – A 62-year-old Tennessee agency will no longer exist as of July 1.
Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill that abolishes the Human Rights Commission and transfers its duties to the attorney general.
The commission was established in 1963 at the height of the Civil Rights Movement to "encourage, promote and advise the public of their human rights" and was given enforcement powers in 1978.
The change is not expected to have a financial impact on the state as the attorney general can use existing resources, according to the bill's fiscal note. The fate of the agency's employees is also up to the attorney general, as he will receive the funding for the positions.
"It has been my honor to serve as Executive Director [for the THRC]. Day in and day out, I've had the pleasure of working alongside our 32 staff members to ensure that people who experience discrimination have access to viable means for justice," said Executive Director Muriel Nolen in a statement thanking the commissioners and staff. "Together, we have carried on the legacy of civil rights in this great state and we've done our best to ensure that each Tennessean has an equal opportunity to pursue employment and has fair access to housing."
Tennessee Nonprofit Assisting Illegal Immigrants Had $300,000 PPP Loan Forgiven Under Biden Admin
The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) received about $300,000 from the Small Business Administration (SBA) as part of its Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which allowed recipients to have their loans forgiven under specific circumstances.
While The Tennessee Star reported on Monday that TIRRC received nearly $3 million in government grant money before its recent donation to the “Belonging Fund,” an initiative Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell recently announced to support illegal immigrants, federal spending data showed TIRRC had only received one payment from the federal government, which was $303,879 from the SBA.
According to data made public by the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, the amount loaned to TIRRC was $293,033. Facilitated by the SBA as a PPP loan, meant to allow employers to retain employees despite the conditions created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the money was provided by Trust Bank after being approved on March 20, 2020.
A total of $297,026 was ultimately forgiven, with SBA data indicating the forgiveness occurred one year later, showing that TIRRC repaid just $6,853, or about 2 percent of the total loan.
TIRRC has confirmed, through publicly available tax documents, that it received $2,725,078 in government grants from 2020-2023 and estimated it would receive another $891,089 last year. Thus, it has received up to $3,616,167 over the last five years. It seems likely that the majority of this funding may have been provided by state or local governments.
While the group’s director, Lisa Sherman Luna, has decried the recent joint immigration enforcement operation between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) as “kidnapping” immigrants “off the street based on nothing but the color of their skin,” TIRRC was previously approached by ICE under the Biden administration in 2022, when the federal agency sought the nonprofit’s help in facilitating the release of thousands of illegal immigrants into Tennessee.
AND THE BEAT GOES ON...............
U.S. makes a straightforward case that the duo defrauded the government through mailing company
OUR STUDENT EAGLES ARE IN MOTION!!
Student Eagles of Cullman -- ARE YOU IN THAT AREA OR DO YOU KNOW FOLKS WHO ARE?
*** PATRIOTIC HOLIDAY BUNTING ***
4 for $20
Student Eagles are raising money to attend a leadership conference in Virginia this summer to be a part of a training opportunity by Leadership Institute. Decorate your home or boat for Memorial Day and The 4th of July and support a great cause at the same time! We can meet you in the Warehouse District to deliver.
Frances Arthur
I'm so proud of you all for doing this!!! And I can't wait to see @everyone in Charlottesville at our National Student Eagle Conference! Please plan on having a representative from your group to tell us about your fundraising efforts and successes!!!
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