The House Homeland Security and House Judiciary Committees are investigating Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell, claiming he “aid[ed] and abet[ted]” illegal immigration by obstructing Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.
Earlier this month, ICE launched a joint operation with local law enforcement to detain over 100 migrants, many with gang affiliations and criminal records. O’Connell condemned the operation strongly, issuing a city executive order that demanded city staff turn over any communications they had with ICE agents. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) on Monday announced that the mayor was now subject to a Congressional investigation over his conduct.
“The individuals that the mayor is standing with are murderers, rapists, drug traffickers, sexual predators, child traffickers, the list goes on,” Ogles said. “Which is why I will always stand on the rule of law and with ICE. And I don’t just stand with ICE. I’ll stand in front of ICE because we, the people, have had enough.”
“I choose my community, my state, and my family over this type of nonsense. Which is why, due to the remarks of Freddie O’Connell and the potential for aiding and embedding illegal immigration, the Homeland Security and the judiciary committees will be conducting an investigation into the mayor of Nashville, his conduct, and whether or not federal dollars have been used in criminal enterprise,” he added.
“I want my community and I want my country back,” the congressman concluded.
Ogles requested all communication and documents related to the presence of illegal immigrants in the city, Executive Order 30, which demanded that city employees turn over communications with ICE agents, and internal discussions regarding ICE operations.
An investigation from Congress is easier to launch, but harder to institute any legal consequences than one launched by law enforcement. O’Connell will likely be called to testify before Congress, and charges might be recommended against him, but he can’t be prosecuted by the committees alone.
The Nashville mayor previously indicated he wasn’t concerned.
“We’re not looking to obstruct any federal or state law, I don’t have any reason to be concerned,” he said in a press conference.
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The May 9 operation caught many in the city off guard. Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition executive director Lisa Sherman Luna said, “None of us have ever seen anything like this.”
Though Tennessee is a solidly red state, Nashville serves as a blue bastion with a sizable immigrant population — 9% of Nashville’s 2 million population in the metropolitan area are immigrants, according to the Migration Policy Institute. Most are from Mexico and Honduras, with a sizable Kurdish population.
