‘There will be repercussions' Homeland Security official targets Nashville mayor over immigration
Agents from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency reach into a car to pull Edgardo David Campos out on May 9, 2025 in Nashville. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell continued to serve as a social media target for federal officials Thursday over his response to the mass detainments of immigrants in Nashville earlier this month.
On Thursday a Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary for public affairs accused O'Connell of 'harboring' immigrants without legal status and 'doxxing' immigration enforcement agents — echoing comments made by Tennessee 5th District Congressman Andy Ogles the day before.
'It certainly looks like Mayor O'Connell was involved in some sort of obstruction or the harboring of criminal illegal aliens in the great city of Nashville,' Tricia McLaughlin said in a media interview posted on the official X account of the Department of Homeland Security.
'But also just last night his office put out the names of Homeland Security investigators and doxxed our ICE enforcement officers,' she said. 'They claimed it was a mistake. There's zero chance it was a mistake and there will be repercussions.'
Late Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security published a list of cities, counties and states across the nation it said were 'deliberately and shamefully obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration laws endangering American communities.' The list came with this demand that 'these jurisdictions immediately review and revise their policies to align with Federal immigration laws and renew their obligation to protect American citizens, not dangerous illegal aliens.'
Nashville and Shelby County in west Tennessee, the county seat of Memphis, appear on the list, which was entitled 'Sanctuary Jurisdictions Violating Federal Immigration Law.' Neither Nashville nor Shelby County have adopted so-called sanctuary city policies, which are barred under Tennessee law.
The accusations against O'Connell center on a longstanding executive order requiring city departments to report interactions with immigration officials.
O'Connell revised the order in early May to require the reporting to take place within 24 hours.
U.S. border czar: Nashville mayor, a critic of immigration sweeps, now faces investigation
The revision took place in the midst of a joint operation by the Tennessee Highway Patrol and the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which led to the detainment of nearly 200 immigrants during traffic stops in South Nashville, a diverse neighborhood that is home to many of the city's immigrant communities. The majority of those detained had no criminal records.
The mayor's order requires all emergency and some non-emergency city agencies and officials to report any interaction with federal immigration to the Mayor's Office of New and Indigenous Americans, a department created to foster civic participation.
The department posted a spreadsheet with summaries of the interactions on its website. As of Wednesday, there were 35 interactions reported between city officials and immigration authorities in May.
One entry identified an ICE analyst by first name. Two others listed the full names of Homeland Security Investigations officials. A fourth entry listed the full name of an immigration supervisor.
By Thursday morning, the names had been removed from the city's website.
A statement from the mayor's office said the names had been posted in error.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement 'dragnet' in Nashville results in detentions
'It is not the normal practice to include the names of individuals in EO30 (the executive order) reporting. Any names mistakenly included have been removed.'
Questions to the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday to clarify McLaughlin's comments about 'repercussions' for the mayor's actions went unanswered.
The public comments about O'Connell by federal officials came a day after the announcement by White House 'border czar' Tom Homan that — as a result of O'Connell's public stance against the mass enforcement actions — multi-agency immigration crackdowns could soon return to Nashville.
'We'll flood the zone in the neighborhoods to find the bad guy. We'll flood the zone at work sites to find the bad guy, but we're going to do it, and he's (O'Connell) not going to stop us,' said Homan, the White House executive director of enforcement and removal operations.
Earlier this week, Ogles held a press conference to denounce O'Connell, a Democrat, for 'aiding and abetting illegal immigration.' Ogles accused the Nashville mayor of obstructing the work of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, citing O'Connell's public statements and executive order.
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