NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — State Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville) invited U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) to be part of a "Rapid Response Town Hall" in Antioch Saturday afternoon. The pair spent more than two hours making remarks and answering questions with hundreds of community members in attendance.

"First of all, I want to say, Andy Ogles, we just completed our first town hall, and it was not scary and we can do this in Antioch. We filled up the auditorium at Cane Ridge High School that was multiracial. People were impacted by rent increases in Nashville, impacted by the immigration system, and impacted by the lack of funding for a public school," Jones told reporters.

During the event on Saturday, July 12, Jones and Omar criticized the "big, beautiful bill," which was recently signed into law, and addressed Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations that happened in a predominantly Latino South Nashville neighborhood in May, as well as more recent encounters in other communities across the country.

"It is shocking to have something that is supposed to be civil enforcement now become something that is a resemblance of war," Omar said in regard to ICE activity across the U.S.

Several attendees raised their hands when asked if this was their first time coming to a town hall. News 2 spoke with some of them who said they wanted to use this opportunity to listen and also share some of their own opinions and concerns.

“I've been emailing legislators here in Tennessee for a long time, and I can count the times that they've responded to me, so to have someone from the United States on the federal level come and listen to us is very impactful, so we're very grateful to have [Omar] here,” Revida Rahman, an attendee who is also the co-founder of One WillCo, told News 2.

News 2 reached out to U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), who was named several times in Saturday’s town hall. A spokesperson from his office responded saying they don't have a comment on Saturday's gathering, but Ogles typically holds a telephone town hall once a month.

Jones told reporters he will push to have more events in Antioch and Southeast Nashville, which he said is currently an underrepresented area.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/nashville/state-rep-justin-jones-us-rep-ilhan-omar-host-town-hall-in-antioch/