This story is a partnership between the Nashville Banner and the Nashville Scene. The Nashville Banner is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization focused on civic news. Visit nashvillebanner.com for more information.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol and federal immigration officials descended upon Nashville’s predominantly Latino neighborhoods in the wee hours of Sunday morning. Authorities made around 150 traffic stops, detaining an unknown number of people and quickly busing some to out-of-state immigration centers.
With a wide net and frenetic pace, the federal agencies detained between 40 and 100 people, some drivers and some passengers, and hauled them to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office off Brick Church Pike. THP said the operation targeted “areas with a history of serious traffic crashes and suspected gang activity,” and resulted in “a few” warrant-related arrests.
Meanwhile protests continue at the state Capitol
Neither THP nor federal authorities on Sunday would provide the number of people detained related to citizenship.
Throughout the day on Sunday, large charter buses removed at least two batches of people, according to two sources on the scene. The groups were relocated to a federal immigration detention center in Louisiana for processing, raising concerns about due process and leaving families with little to no information about their loved ones.
ICE deputy field officer Brian Acuna declined to answer questions about the operation, and ICE’s Office of Public Affairs did not respond to a list of questions.
Activists pleaded for information and attempted to stop the buses.
On Sunday, organizations like Remix Tennessee and the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition condemned the broad attacks on neighborhoods with large immigrant populations.
“Arbitrarily rounding up parents on their way home and workers traveling to their jobs does not make Nashville safer or stronger,” TIRRC said in a statement late Sunday. “Instead, it shatters families, erodes trust in law enforcement, and leads to fear, trauma and isolation that weakens the collective fabric of our community.”
The Arrests
The sweeps happened on busy state roads, like Nolensville Road and Harding Place, in predominantly Latino neighborhoods. An Uber driver with passengers returning from a night out, a driver delivering food and a car full of 18-year-olds were among those pulled over.
Many drivers and at least one passenger were surrendered to ICE during the stops when suspected of being unlawfully present in the United States, based on identification.
Ashley Warbington, a volunteer with Remix Tennessee, was monitoring the Migra Watch line overnight when the ICE presence was first reported around 1:30 a.m. Warbington spent about three hours observing the traffic stops, which appeared to be “random or maybe racially profiling.”
“They were quick, like someone was either detained or let go almost instantly,” Warbington tells the Nashville Banner. “And once they left one stop, it was almost immediate that their blue lights were on again.”
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In each case, a THP patrol vehicle would initiate a traffic stop, followed by two unmarked vehicles — one dark-colored SUV and one dark-colored sedan, like a Dodge Charger, according to Warbington. THP would inquire whether the driver and, on at least one occasion, the passengers had driver's licenses. An unmarked gray Dodge sedan and a gray Subaru SUV matching the above description were present at the ICE field office on Sunday.
Witness videos reviewed by the Banner corroborate Warbington’s description and show several different, brief traffic stops fitting that description.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol responded to inquiries from the Banner with an emailed statement.
“The Tennessee Highway Patrol partnered with federal agencies, including HSI and ICE, for a public safety operation in Davidson County — in areas with a history of serious traffic crashes and suspected gang activity,” the statement reads.
The department did not provide specifics about the number of arrests or detainments, but reported making approximately 150 traffic stops in the operation, resulting in “a few arrests for outstanding warrants.” THP adds that that “illegal guns and drugs were also recovered, including from individuals suspected of gang affiliation.”
A DHS officer on site at the field office told the Banner Sunday that they were unable to provide specifics of who coordinated the operation, but it was “someone within ICE” who was “above [their] pay grade,” adding that they “don’t have information” on who initiated the coordination with the state.
THP similarly seemed to leave the immigration side of the operation to ICE, noting that “in several cases, drivers did not carry valid licenses or identification. Federal agents handled those situations, including immigration-related matters.”
Some activists questioned whether the city had been involved in the operation despite Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s opposition to increased federal and state efforts to remove non-citizens from the country.
“Overnight, we understand that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents detained people during enforcement actions in Middle Tennessee,” O’Connell wrote in a statement late Sunday. "As we learn more, I want to be clear: No MNPD personnel were involved in last night's enforcement action."
About half a dozen Metro Nashville Police Department vehicles, including a helicopter circling overhead, were present Sunday morning and early afternoon as protesters congregated at the ICE field office where the detainees were being held, stirring frustration around the city’s role. O’Connell described MNPD's presence as standard crowd control.
“They do respond to calls for service and help ensure public safety during protest events anywhere in the city, including the one Sunday just off the property of the federal ICE office,” O’Connell wrote. “MNPD officers were relieved from the protest by state law enforcement members.”
No witness accounts or videos provided to the Banner suggest MNPD had any role in the stops.
Councilmember Ginny Welsch told constituents there would be a public meeting to discuss whether the city was involved on Wednesday.
“Questions for Wednesday will be surrounding why they are providing security for a process they're not supposed to be involved in,” Welsch wrote in a text Sunday.
“What is happening is not okay and won’t be tolerated (at least by me),” she continued. “I know the state has passed legislation that takes effect July, one that says that every jurisdiction is required to participate in and support ICE in their illegal activities, but I don’t accept that.”
The Buses
A crowd of activists gathered outside the detention center late Sunday morning, as families and attorneys were reportedly not allowed to speak to those detained by ICE who faced removal from the state and likely the country.
Sometime in the morning, witnesses say a passenger bus left the field office with an unknown number of people on board. Witnesses say they heard chains coming from the back, indicating passengers were on board.
Later, two women — one of whom is pregnant and one with small children — were released from the facility. Another larger charter bus and around five MNPD cars were at the facility — along with several federal vehicles and at least two DHS officers — around 1 p.m.
A second bus — a 40-foot MCI 4500, which can seat up to 47 people, according to the manufacturer’s website — had Washington state plates, but Louisiana DOT decals, fueling speculation that the detainees were being transported to a federal detention center in Southern Louisiana.
Activists protest as a detention bus leaves the ICE field office, May 4, 2025
From the front, one driver and one apparent security officer were visible. The passenger seats were concealed from the front by a locked gate. The side windows were too darkly tinted to see inside. The security officer repeatedly yelled at members of the media who approached the bus.
Protesters — including Gisselle Huerta, who founded the Nashville activist group Hijos de Inmigrantes (Children of Immigrants) — prepared signs on ripped pieces of cardboard instructing the passengers to knock on the windows, stomp or make noise to indicate if they were inside.
As Huerta and another activist approached the bus with the sign, another DHS vehicle entered the other end of the driveway, and the bus began to crawl toward the street.
Protesters surrounded the bus, shouting, “You’re on the wrong side of history,” and, “Dingman, shame on you. Sanders, shame on you,” at the two DHS officers walking with the bus, directing people out of the pathway.
The expressionless driver flashed red and blue lights and repeatedly played an alarm sound, but the crowd did not move until the bus advanced at a crawling speed. At one point, Huerta leaned against the front of the bus, causing a complete stop. Then she sat on the bumper.
“I stopped the bus because they tried to intimidate my people," Huerta said after the fact. "They tried to intimidate me."
Eventually, the empty bus left, but returned later in the afternoon.
This time, THP helped corral protesters, and DHS vehicles blocked them from reaching the bus. Law enforcement pulled chains out of unmarked white vans. Then three groups of detainees were seen being ushered onto the bus from a distance.
Though the distance and a tall black fence made it hard to count how many people were put on the bus, witnesses estimated between 10 and 15 people in each group were escorted to the bus.
This time, protesters again followed and shouted at the bus, but more than a dozen law enforcement agents in plain clothes and tactical vests surrounded the bus, preventing any interference.
In the aftermath, community members discussed next steps, and family members of those detained reeled in the parking lot where they were left uncertain whether their loved ones remained inside or had been taken away on a bus.
One woman whose husband was detained sobbed on the curb, while two teenagers explained that their relative had not come home the previous night and they feared he was being removed from the country without due process. Others were reportedly told the detainees would not be able to contact counsel or family until they were already at the detention center in Louisiana.
Activists encouraged community members to know their rights around ICE in case it stages any similar operations. The crowd said in unison: “I would like to remain silent. I would like to talk to my lawyer. I ain’t signing shit.”
A spokesperson for ICE did not answer questions about the status, whereabouts or number of people detained in the operation but provided a statement early Monday, after this story was first published by the Banner:
“Protecting the safety and security of our communities remains a top priority for ICE,” New Orleans field office director Mellissa Harper says. “As part of our ongoing mission to uphold U.S. immigration laws, our targeted enforcement operations are specifically focused on individuals who threaten public safety or national security. These efforts help ensure that our neighborhoods remain safe and that immigration laws are enforced.”
The Banner’s Martin Cherry and Chandler Meador contributed to this report.
This article first appeared on Nashville Banner and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
