ICE Trying to Build Its Attorney Team in Nashville

The federal government’s mass deportation effort has begun a hiring push for immigration removal attorneys in Nashville.

Multiple solicitation letters, sent this week, seek to hire away practicing local attorneys to the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA), ICE’s legal team. A form letter reviewed by the Scene advertises the chance to litigate “a wide range of removal cases” for the federal government in both Nashville and Franklin. While Memphis has the state’s closest immigration court, OPLA leased office space in MetroCenter earlier this year. 

The White House has sharply increased the detention, prosecution and deportation of people living in the United States throughout 2025 and 2026. Joint operations between the Tennessee Highway Patrol and ICE have specifically targeted areas in southeast Nashville that are home to a large concentration of non-white residents. The arrests have included claims by victims and witnesses of racial profiling, violence and civil rights abuses by law enforcement. Many arrested locally have had no criminal history.

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Memphis ICE employee Pam Tremmel signed a letter sent this week to multiple Nashville attorneys promoting new OPLA positions. In a brief phone call, Tremmel described OPLA as “ICE lawyers” and redirected the Scene to Christian Tran, ICE’s general attorney in Memphis. Tran did not respond to the Scene’s request for comment on Friday afternoon.

At least one lawyer solicited was confounded that the federal government targeted him. The new role would have him prosecuting the same immigration removal cases he has spent his career defending. 

“A direct email to my work address from someone saying that they're hiring for the government, that has never happened, and I was surprised,” says the lawyer, who requested anonymity out of a concern for professional retaliation. “Especially the fact that it is the exact opposite of what I do now.”

Tremmel’s letter does not explain exactly what these attorneys would do beyond litigating removal cases. Without a local immigration court, a hiring push could reflect an increased legal workload produced by ICE’s many local arrests. The letter also mentions OPLA’s eligibility for federal loan forgiveness — a potential salary sweetener for those with undergraduate or law school debt. 

Will York, an immigration attorney with Ozment Law, regularly argues opposite OPLA lawyers. 

“ The reality is, most of the time, these attorneys are fighting to deport non-violent family members,” York tells the Scene. “It's no secret that through the government's mass deportation program, the vast majority of persons deported have no serious criminal record at all.”

Staffing may be tough right now. Broad arrest strategies, mishandled cases and violent, sometimes fatal tactics used by ICE have made the organization broadly unpopular among the American public. Last month, job postings appeared for an ICE call center in Middle Tennessee.