Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency continues traffic stops, arrests in Nashville

Agents from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency reach into a car to pull a driver out on May 9, 2025 in Nashville. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been conducting what officials term “dragnets” in Nashville since May 4, when 84 people were detained in a South Nashville sweep, a spokesperson for ICE confirmed.

Photojournalist John Partipilo on May 10 photographed a traffic stop in Nashville’s Madison community as ICE agents and Tennessee Highway Patrol officers pulled over drivers. In this photo series, Partipilo documents the detention and arrest of one man, who just pulled out of a gas station — seen in the background — after filling his tank up.