NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton is publicly urging Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell to revoke an executive order that mandates transparency regarding local interactions with federal immigration authorities.
The call comes in the wake of a coordinated operation last month between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Tennessee Highway Patrol that resulted in the arrest of 196 individuals. According to Metro Nashville’s legal director, the operation took city officials “by surprise,” highlighting tensions between local and federal law enforcement.
In response, Mayor O’Connell issued Executive Order 30, requiring the Metro Nashville Police Department and Metro Council members to document and publish any interactions with federal immigration agents. The order aimed to promote transparency in light of increased federal enforcement activity.
However, controversy arose when early reports included the names of individuals involved in these interactions, sparking backlash from law enforcement and political figures concerned about the safety and privacy of federal agents. The mayor’s office later removed the identifying information.
On June 5, Speaker Sexton took to social media to denounce the executive order, arguing that it endangers the safety of state and federal officers by exposing them to harassment and interference while performing their duties.
“While Metro has refused to assist federal agents with ICE; they decided to escalate it by forcing all employees to act as big brother,” Sexton wrote. He acknowledged Mayor O’Connell’s authority to issue the order but insisted that its continuation poses more harm than good.
“In my opinion, I think it may do more harm to the agents and embolden people to maybe go looking for them instead of allowing them to do their job,” Sexton told News 2. “People can disagree on whether or not they should be doing what they’re doing, and they can debate that, but empowering the Metro government to act as the overseer of all that through executive order, I think, was a little bit too much.”
The Tennessee Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) echoed these concerns, announcing plans to request a criminal investigation by Nashville’s District Attorney into the unauthorized release of federal agents’ identities. Additionally, the organization is urging state legislators to seek an inquiry from the Tennessee Attorney General.
In a statement, the FOP criticized Mayor O’Connell’s office for the breach of confidentiality, calling for accountability and disciplinary action. “The mayor and his office must be held accountable for their actions. The staff member who posted this should be terminated for these actions. If the mayor authorized this information, he should take responsibility for this travesty and resign,” the statement read.
The FOP further emphasized the broader implications for law enforcement recruitment, noting, “Law enforcement officers, local, state, and federal, should not have to worry about the elected officials overstepping their reach and putting private information out to the public. Actions such as this demonstrate why men and women do not want to enter law enforcement in today’s society.”
The ongoing dispute underscores the complex dynamics between city and state officials over immigration enforcement and the balance between government transparency and officer safety.
