Authorities arrest over 100 people on Tennessee roads in support of Trump's deportation plan [View all]
Source: ABC News/AP
May 10, 2025, 8:08 AM
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- More than 100 people have been taken into custody by federal immigration officials in a joint operation with the Tennessee Highway Patrol, leaving many in Nashville's immigrant community uncertain and worried. “None of us have ever seen anything like this,” Lisa Sherman Luna, executive director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition said Friday.
The operation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a reminder of how local and state law enforcement jurisdictions are critical to President Donald Trump’s plans for mass deportations. Last week, Florida officials touted a joint operation with ICE that resulted in 1,120 immigration arrests.
Tennessee's Gov. Bill Lee recently signed a law creating a division of immigration enforcement with the state’s Department of Safety and Homeland Security, which includes the Highway Patrol. He is one of a number of Republican officials pledging to use state resources to carry out Trump’s plans.
Meanwhile, city officials in the Democratic stronghold of Nashville have disavowed involvement and been critical of the arrests. Nashville Law Director Wally Dietz said the state-federal operation, which began May 3, caught everyone in city government by surprise.
Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/authorities-arrest-100-people-tennessee-roads-support-trumps-121665680
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