NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Tennessee immigrant rights organization is challenging claims by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) about a joint operation that has resulted in numerous detentions in Nashville.
The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) alleges the agencies are targeting Hispanic and Latino communities rather than focusing solely on public safety threats.
"We have never seen anything like this," said Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition Executive Director Lisa Sherman Luna.
Since May 3, authorities have been conducting traffic stops and arresting immigrants in Nashville.
"They are kidnapping our people off the street based on nothing but the color of their skin," Luna said.
The operation between THP and ICE resulted in more than 400 traffic stops. According to ICE, 94 people were detained for further investigation and transport, including a convicted child sex predator and a suspected member of a violent Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua.
"A child sex trafficker has been caught, a gang member, multiple felons," said Governor Bill Lee. "These people don't need to be in our backyard. And these kinds of efforts will help remove them."
But Luna says ICE has a significant record of misrepresenting the truth.
"Fathers, brothers, mothers, sisters, friends, and neighbors are all languishing in immigration detention centers because of the color of their skin," Luna said.
TIRRC says that through families, they have only been able to identify 62 of those detained. Among those who were stopped was Ingrid Martinez's mother.
"I didn't know that after five minutes of barely being with her, I wasn't going to be able to see her anymore," said Martinez.
Martinez says her mom was taken to Louisiana just one hour later. "She serves a church. She takes care of her grandkids. So, I don't know how she can be seen as a criminal," Martinez said.
TIRRC says ICE and THP are withholding information from attorneys ready to represent those in the detention centers. They worry officials will pressure those in custody to waive their rights to a court hearing.
"Our full focus right now is making sure that families and friends are reunited with their loved ones, and that everyone affected has their fair day in court," said TIRRC Legal Director Allen King.
The coalition is urging Governor Lee and THP to stop their ongoing collaboration with ICE. They claim to have found no citations under state law for any of the stops made.
"Any Tennessean who cares about families, about safety, about our state and about belonging should be deeply alarmed and concerned about the lack of due process and violations of our most fundamental constitutional rights," Luna said.
If this incident affected you or a family member, TIRRC urges you to call 615-414-1030 for legal information and resources.
Click here, to donate to The Belonging Fund, an effort to support Nashville immigrants during moments of crisis.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Patsy.Montesinos@Newschannel5.com
Happy Birthday to the YMCA of Middle TN. They just celebrated their 150th anniversary! A lot has changed with the Y over the years. I have personally seen some of that firsthand when I was a long-time board member at the Northwest Family Y and part of their Black Achievers Program. Forrest Sanders has a look back.
- Lelan Statom
