Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell (D) is under federal investigation for allegedly “aiding and abetting” illegal immigrants and obstructing Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Representative Andy Ogles (R., Tenn.) said the Department of Homeland Security and congressional judiciary committees are looking into whether the mayor used federal tax dollars “in criminal enterprise” related to illegal immigration.
The mayor signed an executive order directing city staff to report all communications they have with ICE agents after the agency carried out an operation with the Tennessee Highway Patrol to detain illegal immigrants, many of whom were criminals with gang affiliations, according to law enforcement. The operation resulted in the arrest of nearly 200 illegal immigrants.
The mayor noted federal officials have “shown us no proof” that those arrested in the operation were people “with criminal histories or criminal intent.”
“We don’t even know the names of who they’ve arrested, much less the charges,” O’Connell said earlier this month. “What we have seen is a violation of due process and the defiance of court orders.”
However, ICE says that 96 of the 196 individuals arrested had either prior convictions or pending charges.
Ogles said “the individuals the mayor is standing with are murderers, rapists, drug traffickers, sexual predators, child traffickers…the list goes on.”
“I will always stand on the rule of law and with ICE. And I don’t just stand with ICE; I’ll stand in front of ICE because we the people have had enough,” Ogles added in a Monday press conference.
“Due to the remarks of Freddie O’Connell and the potential for aiding and abetting illegal immigration, the Homeland Security and the judiciary committees will be conducting an investigation into the mayor of Nashville, his conduct and whether or not federal dollars have been used in criminal enterprise,” the lawmaker concluded.
The latest update comes after Ogles previously sent a letter to ICE and the judiciary committees asking them to investigate O’Connell.
He blasted the mayor’s executive order as “an outrageous directive.”
Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security accused O’Connell of standing by “pro-illegal policies, claiming that these operations were done by ‘people who do not share our values of safety.’”
The Nashville community and local immigration advocacy groups have responded to the arrests by setting up a hotline for community members to call to report any signs of immigration enforcement. Along with the hotline, which was set up by The ReMIX Tennessee, community members have shared warnings on social media about where the Tennessee Highway Patrol and ICE agents have been seen together.