ICE Operation Arrests 196 in Nashville, Including 95 With Prior Convictions

DHS announcement includes photos, names, and details about some of those arrested.

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent makes an arrest during an enforcement operation. CBP file photo

More than 196 suspected illegal immigrants, including 95 with prior criminal convictions or pending charges, were arrested in a federal immigration crackdown in Nashville, officials said.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement that 31 people were arrested in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation who were previously removed from the United States and had re-entered the country illegally.

The DHS included photos, names, and other information about alleged illegal immigrants who were detained by ICE, including an Iraqi national, Jassim Jafaf Al-Raash, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison on larceny and false imprisonment charges. He was also arrested for failing to register as a sex offender and was ordered to be removed from the United States in September 2021, the statement said.

Also arrested by ICE was a 33-year-old illegal immigrant from El Salvador, accused of being an MS-13 gang member, who was subject to a “Red Notice” in his home country for aggravated murder, the statement added. Franklin Oswaldo Velasquez, the suspect, has a criminal history that includes drug convictions, the statement said.

Other illegal immigrants who were detained by ICE in the operation and named in the statement include individuals convicted of aggravated assault, drug possession, and drug distribution charges.

The DHS announcement also included criticism of Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell’s policies and claimed his office “stands by pro-illegal policies” and had launched “the Belonging Fund to provide taxpayer dollars for aliens in Nashville.”

“You would think all public officials would unite around DHS bringing violent criminal illegal aliens to justice and removing them from American communities. However, pro-open borders politicians—like Mayor O’Connell—would rather protect illegal aliens than American citizens,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.

She added that the federal operation resulted in “getting gang members, sex offenders, and other violent criminals off Nashville’s streets.”

This week, O'Connell signed an order to track and report his government’s interactions with federal immigration officials, while criticizing their efforts in Nashville.

“All communications between federal immigration authorities (or their parent agency, if regarding immigration) and a Metro emergency services department shall be submitted within one business day to the Mayor’s Office of New Americans,” the order said, in part.

O'Connell, in a news conference last week, accused federal immigration officials of inflicting “trauma” during raids that have “caused deep community harm.” He said that his office lacks the authority to enforce immigration law. He did not mention the criminal histories of the arrestees.

“Their approach is not our understanding of what a ‘Nashville for all of us’ looks like,” he said, referring to ICE’s immigration enforcement measures.

During the 2024 campaign, President Donald Trump vowed to initiate the deportation of illegal immigrants who have criminal records. Several months ago, he declared the MS-13 and Tren de Aragua gangs as foreign terrorist organizations.

He later invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to hasten the deportation processes of individuals accused of being on those organizations, but those efforts have been held up in the courts.

Meanwhile, border czar Tom Homan has warned that the federal government may take action against mayors or other elected officials who attempt to intervene in ICE operations. Last month, a judge in Milwaukee was arrested for allegedly allowing an illegal immigrant facing misdemeanor criminal charges to escape being detained.

The Epoch Times contacted the Nashville mayor’s office for comment on Tuesday.