Find longer version of this story at our sister publication the Williamson Scene.
A Franklin man who helped police investigate a string of sexual assaults against children is now facing deportation because a past DUI jeopardized his legal status.
On the morning of May 8, while on their way to work, Jose Reyes and his father Vicente were arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement along with two other unidentified people. A video reviewed by the Williamson Scene shows two unidentified plainclothes agents in bulletproof vests making the arrests at the end of a rural Franklin road.
Reyes and his father were among the nearly 200 people — most of whom had no criminal history — rounded up throughout Middle Tennessee in a days-long operation. ICE refused to release additional details about the operation or acknowledge immigration arrests in Williamson County, which local law enforcement agencies say they were not aware of or a part of.
Agency releases most in-depth look at mass arrests since May 4
Now Reyes — a 2013 Centennial High School graduate — and his father share a cell in Winn Correctional Center, a state prison in North Louisiana used by ICE.
The Williamson Scene spoke to Reyes on July 23 in a recorded prison phone call, during which he described his shock at his detainment.
Reyes says the prison guards are “very respectful,” but called the ICE agents “demoralizing,” adding that he has not witnessed or experienced physical abuse. He does note the facility’s dirty yellow water, which he says inmates who can’t afford the commissary are forced to drink.
“I never thought this would happen,” Reyes says, explaining he and his father were first detained in Cookeville and moved to Knoxville before being relocated to Louisiana. “Everything changed from one day to another. It was kind of a shock.”
Reyes and his wife Annie say that while they come from a conservative family and were generally aware of the Trump administration’s immigration plans, they believed only violent criminals would be deported. Annie says Reyes had applied and been approved for an I-130 form and had a pending 601 waiver, both immigration forms, neither of which slowed or prevented his arrest. Reyes has been attempting to gain his citizenship through his marriage to Annie.
DACA and DUI
In 1999, then-4-year-old Jose Reyes, his parents and his 1-year-old sister came to the United States from Jalisco, Mexico.
Reyes was a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient. In 2016 he was charged with a DUI in Kentucky, for which he later accepted a plea deal. He was sentenced to probation. A DUI charge can impact DACA status by making an individual ineligible to re-enroll.
Court records obtained by the Williamson Scene show a handwritten note on paperwork from 2017, which states that Reyes needed to speak to an immigration attorney about the case’s potential impact on his DACA standing. Around the same time, he was also charged with statutory rape in Williamson County but was ultimately found not guilty in a trial. Reyes says he was “falsely accused” of the crime, but before the trial, he received a letter warning that his immigration status could be impacted by the result of the case.
Reyes was then a student at Western Kentucky University studying criminology and psychology. He says he had to drop out of college to afford a lawyer.
Detailed court records of that case were not available, indicating that the charge may have been expunged from his record. But law enforcement officials confirmed the charge and outcome of the case to the Williamson Scene.
Also in 2016, Reyes was charged with misdemeanor assault and violation of parole, with detailed court records missing as the cases were also expunged, meaning that the DUI is the only crime on his record.
The Williamson Scene reached out to Reyes’ lawyer, but has not received a reply as of this writing.
Reyes says the DUI conviction is why an immigration judge denied him bond during his current detainment. Now he waits to hear if he will ultimately be deported to Mexico, a country he doesn’t remember, a world away from his wife and their nearly 2-year-old daughter Lucy.
The mother of Jose Reyes poses for a portrait with her granddaughter in Franklin
Cooperating With Police
Reyes’ experiences with law enforcement also include helping the criminal investigation and prosecution of Franklin soccer coach Camilo Campos Hurtado.
In June of this year, Campos, who has been living illegally in the U.S., pleaded guilty to multiple federal charges in the case. His state case is still working its way through the courts. Campos is set to be deported to his home country of Mexico after he serves his sentences.
Reyes says he and his friends met Campos as children while playing soccer at Liberty Elementary School. He says Campos would invite them to his house and offer the children drugs and alcohol.
“There was always something just deep inside me telling me something was wrong in that situation,” Reyes says, adding that one day Campos called him and propositioned him for sex.
“It was like a shock to me,” Reyes says. “I didn’t know really how to react because I was younger, but it just made me mad, and I told him if he ever asked me that again, I would try to fight him. That was like my best reaction at the time, and I distanced myself after that.”
After Campos’ arrest in 2023, Reyes spoke with a Franklin Police Department detective, recounting his experience. Reyes says he attempted to help identify victims. Campos was indicted on additional charges as more victims came forward.
“When I saw some of those pictures, it enraged me,” Reyes says of victim photos shown to him by law enforcement. “For me, it was enough to protect other children.”
Trump’s DHS secretary dodges questions on transparency, says Mayor O’Connell ‘doesn’t deserve to be in any office’
Reyes says he spoke to police because he thought it was the right thing to do, but the irony of helping with the prosecution of an undocumented immigrant and then being targeted by ICE is not lost on him. Now he and his family question why he — rather than the “worst of the worst” — became the target of an immigration arrest after he helped provide information that led to a prosecution.
The Campos case gained national attention in part due to statements made by U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, who sent a letter in 2023 to then-U.S. Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas demanding answers on what the agency knew about Campos.
Some supporters of Reyes have reached out to Blackburn — as well as other elected officials, including President Donald Trump — asking for help in securing the release of Reyes and his father. Annie says they have yet to hear back.
“I think it’s absolutely ridiculous that you have somebody who’s been in Franklin, Tenn., their whole life … has helped the police in investigating a case that [Blackburn] herself was very invested in, and she won’t return any of my calls, won’t return any of my emails,” Annie says. “It makes me angry.”
The Williamson Scene reached out to Blackburn’s office for a statement on Reyes’ case. She sent along the following: “Illegal immigrants who wish to obtain legal status to remain in the United States must follow our laws without exception. Under President Trump’s leadership, ICE is working around the clock to enforce and restore the rule of law.”
