Tennessee GOP Congressman calls for investigation of Nashville mayor amid immigrant detentions

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell has requested detailed information about immigrants arrest in the city and what they were charged with.
(Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)

A Tennessee U.S. congressman said Wednesday he will call for an investigation into Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell following more than a week of traffic sweeps and detentions by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency in Nashville. 

U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles, a Republican representing the 5th District which covers part of Nashville, alleged in a press release that O’Connell is responsible for “blatantly obstructing” ICE agents. 

“By ordering city agencies to monitor and potentially sabotage ICE operations, he has crossed a dangerous line — using the power of government to shield criminal illegal aliens from the law,” Ogles said in a statement.

Ogles plans to ask the U.S. House Judiciary Committee and the Homeland Security Committee to investigate O’Connell and other Metro Nashville officials. 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement “dragnet” in Nashville results in detentions

The statement came one day after a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official singled out O’Connell in a statement claiming ICE agents — in conjunction with Tennessee Highway Patrol officers — arrested 196 people without permanent legal status. Allegedly, 95 of those had either pending criminal charges or convictions. 

“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,” O’Connell said in a statement. 

A spokesperson for O’Connell declined to specifically address Ogles’ comments.

Since May 4, ICE agents and THP officers have been conducting sweeps through Nashville and Middle Tennessee, often pulling drivers over for alleged traffic violations. 

Metro Legal Director Wally Dietz said on May 5 he sent a letter to the Tennessee Highway Patrol asking for the names of those arrested and what those people were charged with. Officials with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, he added, have been “totally opaque in responding.”

Tennessee 5th District Congressman confirms FBI fraud investigation

The detention comes amid a federal and state focus on immigrants and moves to deport them. In a January special legislative session, the Tennessee General Assembly passed sweeping immigration legislation to create a new state enforcement office as a liaison with the Trump administration and provide grants to law enforcement agencies that agree to work with federal immigration officials. Under the program, local police and sheriff deputies can work with ICE to enforce federal immigration laws and criminalize public officials who vote for sanctuary city policies.

Ogles has had his own brushes with federal law. In August 2024, Ogles confirmed the FBI had confiscated his phone amid a fraud investigation into his campaign finances and as recently as January, a U.S. House Congressional Ethics panel recommended further investigation into his activities. In late January, just after President Donald Trump was inaugurated, the FBI announced it would drop the investigation.

Ogles has proposed a measure that would allow Trump to serve a third term as president.