After facing backlash earlier this year for leasing a Nashville office space to ICE’s legal advisory branch, real estate company Freeman Webb’s president and state Rep. Bob Freeman (D-Nashville) met with the Metro Council Immigrant Caucus and has agreed to not renew the lease. Freeman has also said he will donate the lease profits to immigrant rights organizations.
In February, Wired first reported that the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor — the branch of ICE that handles immigration court proceedings — was leasing the Freeman Webb-owned Nashville House office building located on Vantage Way in MetroCenter.
Freeman Webb also owns FW Publishing — the company that publishes the Scene, as well as our sister publications the Nashville Post, Nfocus and the Williamson Scene. Bob Freeman does not have editorial oversight regarding what the Scene and its sister publications publish.
Real estate company Freeman Webb, who owns the building, says it would ‘never knowingly lease our space to ICE,’ who ‘actively concealed’ its use
Freeman told both the Scene and the immigrant caucus that the lease agreement was first signed during the Biden administration by the U.S. General Services Administration — an independent agency responsible for supplying transportation, property management and other services to various federal agencies — and that at no point was his company told of plans related to ICE.
According to a statement from the caucus, Freeman Webb offered to cover relocation costs if the tenant agreed to terminate the lease and relocate, but the offer was declined. Freeman Webb then consulted with both local and national legal counsel to see what recourse was available.
After meeting with the caucus, Freeman agreed to not renew the current lease agreement, to refrain from leasing office space to any federal agencies and to donate profits from the lease to organizations advocating for immigrant rights and immigrant families.
Freeman tells the Scene he never wanted the OPLA in Nashville House in the first place and wasn’t planning to renew.
“It was an easy yes,” says Freeman of agreeing to the caucus’s terms.
Freeman, who says he’s already a regular donor to immigrant rights groups including the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, will continue to support such groups.
“This issue extends beyond a single building or lease agreement,” Metro Council Immigrant Caucus Chair Terry Vo says in a statement.
“Immigrant families throughout Nashville are facing increasing fear, instability, and uncertainty as federal immigration enforcement expands across Tennessee. Our caucus remains committed to advancing policies, partnerships, and protections that uphold the dignity, safety, and humanity of all residents. “
This news arrives as the state’s Republican supermajority pushed forward with immigration crackdowns during this year’s legislative session and reports of ICE enforcement activity across Davidson County have become more prevalent.
Nicolle S. Praino contributed reporting.
