Word spread quickly through Nashville in early May: Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had been spotted alongside state highway patrol officers along the southern roads where much of the city’s Latino population lives.
The outcry over the nearly 200 immigration-related arrests was fierce in Nashville, a liberal enclave in an otherwise ruby red state. But even as the city’s Democratic mayor, Freddie O’Connell, condemned what he called the operation’s “deep community harm,” it reflected how most Tennessee leaders have embraced President Trump’s crackdown on immigration.
With little official recourse, several Nashville residents and immigration advocacy groups are now acting as unofficial chroniclers of immigration activity. Among them is The ReMIX Tennessee, which set up a hotline for community members to call in and report any sign of immigration enforcement.
On social media, they also circulate warnings about where the Tennessee Highway Patrol and ICE agents have been spotted together. State troopers can make routine traffic stops. Immigration officers legally cannot without probable cause or a warrant, but together, it meant traffic stops could end in immigration arrests.
“Anyone who’s from Nashville knows those areas are densely immigrant, Hispanic, Latino areas,” said Cathy Carrillo, a co-founder of the organization. She added, “if we weren’t out there documenting everything that they were doing, they would be doing double what they were doing, and they would be treating people worse.”
Brian Acuna, an official in ICE’s New Orleans field office, said the operation was focused on “identifying and removing individuals who pose a threat to the safety and security of Tennessee residents.” While some of those detained have not been identified, the agency said that 96 of the 196 arrests had either prior convictions or pending charges.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol “categorically rejects any suggestion that our troopers engage in racial profiling or target individuals based on ethnicity, race, or national origin,” Jason Pack, a spokesman for the department said. Troopers were focused on “observed hazardous driving behavior,” conducting 660 traffic stops and 16 arrests between May 3 and May 13.
“Each stop was lawful, consistent with department policy, and conducted in accordance with the Constitution,” Mr. Pack said.
The agency is now one of more than 600 state and local agencies that have signed a formal agreement with the federal government that allows them to help with immigration enforcement.
Emily Cochrane is a national reporter for The Times covering the American South, based in Nashville.
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