NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Several Nashville leaders have responded to a press release from the Department of Homeland Security detailing arrests made by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

On Tuesday, the DHS put out a press release detailing that 196 individuals were arrested over the course of a joint operation between ICE and THP. The DHS claimed that 95 of those people had prior criminal convictions, identifying and detailing five. None of the other identities or charges have been released.

Within the same press release, the DHS said that Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell stood "by pro-illegal policies." The DHS also claimed that the Belonging Fund, launched by Metro, provides "taxpayer dollars for aliens in Nashville."

O'Connell sent News 2 the following statement Tuesday:

"We've been delivering safety to this community by reducing crime multiple years in a row and arresting gang members who commit crimes in our city. And we do it in a way that doesn't separate families, hurt our economy, and distress an entire community of people just going about their day-to-day lives. We do thorough investigations — often with state and federal partners — that result in prosecutions, and we intend to continue that work.

By ICE's own admission, a large percentage of people caught up in this sweep had no criminal record. Who and where are they? ICE should release the names and charges for everyone they detained in Nashville, not just a select few."

The Metro Council Immigrant Caucus also released a statement following the DHS press release:

"The Metro Council Immigrant Caucus, in the strongest possible terms, condemns the
tactics, scope, and narrative used by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in its May 13, 2025, press release touting recent arrests in Nashville. While we all share a commitment to public safety, true safety is never achieved through fear-based enforcement that harms entire communities under false pretenses.

Let us be clear: accountability must never come at the expense of due process, human dignity, or
community trust. The language and framing in the DHS announcement dangerously stigmatize entire immigrant communities in Nashville and misrepresents the reality of what has transpired.

While the presence of organized crime must be addressed, we cannot ignore the broader, harmful impact of these raids. Local reports confirm that federal agents — acting under the guise of public safety — approached children at bus stops, interrogated them about their parents' immigration status, and left a 9-year-old child alone for hours after his parent was detained. A father was arrested on the way home from buying birthday decorations for his son and a beloved church elder was violently pulled from his car on his 55th birthday.

These are not isolated incidents—they are part of a pattern and practice of trauma and fear
disproportionately inflicted on Nashville’s immigrant families. This is not safety. This is state-sanctioned fear.

Furthermore, the ongoing collaboration between state agencies and federal immigration enforcement erodes public safety, rather than enhancing it. When community members are afraid to report abuse, contact emergency services, or cooperate with local law enforcement, the safety of all Nashvillians is undermined.

In response to the human toll of these actions, the City of Nashville—in partnership with the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee—launched the Belonging Fund, a privately supported initiative that provides emergency assistance for housing, food, childcare, and transportation to families who have been directly affected due to the ICE raids.

Contrary to misinformation circulated in the DHS press release, this fund is not taxpayer-funded. The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, Conexion Americas, and Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors committed more than $30,000 to help seed the new fund. Community members can donate to the Belonging Fund or Nashville Unidos Fund.

We call on city and state leaders to:

• Reject DHS’s harmful and misleading framing of these operations;
• Investigate the full scope and conduct of these enforcement actions in Nashville;
• Demand transparency and accountability from any agency participating in or facilitating these efforts;
• End local partnerships that enable fear, racial profiling, and family separation.

Nashville must not be complicit. Our city can and must lead with compassion, fairness, and courage. Our immigrant communities deserve protection — not persecution. We must be a city that welcomes, not one that scapegoats.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/nashville/metro-leaders-respond-dhs-arrest-announcement/