According to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Nashville will at some point see more ICE agents on its streets. Noem held a Friday morning press conference in Nashville billed by DHS as “Exposing ‘Worst of the Worst’ Criminal Illegal Aliens in Tennessee.” She offered no new evidence or clarity related to people already detained locally by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, many of whom ICE admitted had no criminal history.
The press conference was held inside ICE’s field office on Brick Church Pike, the same location where in May demonstrators gathered to protest the detention and removal of dozens of people who were transported to a Louisiana detention facility. Even more local arrests were carried out in the following days.
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ICE is set to see unprecedented growth after its annual budget was increased from $8.7 billion to $27.7 billion with the passage of President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
“What the people in Nashville will see is obviously more individuals and more agents, but they'll also see more training and equipment,” Noem said on Friday. “We'll see more investigative tools that will be able to be utilized. My hope is that we also get the chance to work with the Department of Justice to get more immigration judges.”
The funding increase comes as state Republicans push for local law enforcement agencies to partner with ICE.
Noem called the Nashville office, which oversees Homeland Security Investigations operations throughout Tennessee and Kentucky, “one of the most outstanding offices that we have in this nation for going after child exploitation rings and child trafficking and human trafficking.” She also railed against current federal criminal defendant Kilmar Abrego García, whose legal saga has centered on Nashville in recent weeks.
“Bringing violent criminals to justice is our priority,” Noem said, going on to claim that 70 percent of the “almost 300,000 and more criminals and illegal aliens” arrested in the U.S. have criminal convictions or criminal charges.
CBS News recently reported, however, that ICE’s own data shows that of the 100,000 people who were deported between Jan. 1 and June 24, only 70,583 had criminal convictions — and most of those were for nonviolent offenses.
Noem criticized Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell, who has come under fire from Tennessee Republicans for his opposition to ICE raids in the city. Noem said O’Connell is “playing politics to a dangerous level that's risking people's lives,” and declared that he “doesn’t deserve to be mayor, [he] doesn’t deserve to be in any office.”
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“What the mayor is doing to the city is shameful, and what he needs to do is participate with us and make sure that he's helping us uphold the rule of law,” Noem said.
She also claimed that Belmont University is taking part in “obstruction against federal immigration law,” following a call by Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles to investigate the university for diversity, equity and inclusion practices.
Noem pushed back against questions about ICE enforcement actions taking place in predominantly Latino communities and concerns that ICE may be racially profiling community members — something she said was "absolutely false.”
Noem at one point snapped at a reporter for Nashville Noticias — a Spanish-language news outlet — saying, “Don’t you dare ever say that again.”
“Every single operation that we do on ICE is based on investigative work and our casework to show that there is a reason and reasonable suspicion to go into an area and to talk [to] and look at individuals that are involved in criminal activity,” Noem said.
ICE has refused to provide details — including names and charges — related to all but five arrests by agents in Middle Tennessee, which Noem defended multiple times Friday.
“If we are not giving you names and data and information, it is because we are following the law and ensuring that every individual gets the due process that they need,” Noem said. “Now, due process looks different based on what case it is and who the individual is, but we will continue to make sure that we're focusing on following the law and making those internal adjustments.”
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at a press conference in Nashville, July 18, 2025
Arrest information and court records are public and allow the press and the public to track legal proceedings to ensure that due process — a constitutional right of all people regardless of citizenship status — is being given to defendants.
Noem spoke from behind a table displaying “drugs and guns that have been taken off the streets from this office and this area.” A Homeland Security spokesperson couldn’t immediately confirm whether the items were connected to any of the immigration-related arrests touted by the agency.
Posters presented at the press conference included images of four of ICE’s Nashville detainees, each reading “ARRESTED.” One of the posters bore the image of Franklin Oswaldo Velasquez of El Salvador, with the words “SALVADORAN MURDER.” Another with the image of Jassim Jafaf Al-Raash included the words “IRAQI RAPE.” Both men were named by DHS in May.
Noem also visited Nashville International Airport on Thursday evening for the debut of an expedited security lane for active-duty military members and their families. Democratic state Rep. Justin Jones — whose district contains the airport — was barred from attending the event. A small group of protesters demonstrated outside of Friday’s press conference.
