This week, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) carried out an operation in Nashville, resulting in the arrests of individuals, including convicted child sex offenders and gang members. However, the city’s mayor, Freddie O’Connell, stated that the purpose of these arrests wasn’t specifically to enhance public safety.
A letter from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) addressed to O’Connell expressed concern about ICE’s actions. “Our main priority is safety. We are troubled that federal actions appear to complicate this,” O’Connell noted. He clarified that local police were not involved in those enforcement actions. “No personnel from the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD) participated in last night’s operations,” he said.
O’Connell emphasized that the police department lacks federal immigration authority and is not trained to enforce immigration laws. He added that the local police do not have access to federal immigration databases.
“Such federal enforcement doesn’t contribute to community safety and may deter residents from reporting crimes,” he expressed, seeking information on those who had been detained.
This Nashville operation led to the capture of a convicted child sex offender and a member of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
DHS responded on social media, saying, “The mayor of Nashville should want these individuals off the streets. Our brave law enforcement faces significant risks, with attacks against ICE officers increasing by 413%. President Trump has emphasized immigration enforcement, which the American public supports, and DHS is committed to this mission.”
O’Connell’s office did not reply to inquiries from Fox News Digital regarding the matter.
In the first 100 days of President Trump’s second term, ICE reported over 66,000 arrests of undocumented immigrants and removal of about 65,000 individuals. The agency’s statistics indicated that 66,463 illegal immigrants were apprehended, including those accused of posing threats to community safety and national security.
ICE claimed that three of the four apprehensions involved those charged with crimes. The total number of illegal immigrant arrests included 2,288 gang members affiliated with groups such as Tren de Aragua and MS-13, both designated as foreign terrorist organizations.
