U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) said on Wednesday that Belmont University may have violated Tennessee’s new law against human smuggling, which also created penalties for knowingly harboring an illegal immigrant, after a video appeared to show a university official describe an institutional effort to conceal the status of illegal immigrants through its Hope, Unity, and Belonging (HUB) office, which the official said was a rebranded effort to push Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion amid federal scrutiny.
“The HUB is Hope, Unity, and Belonging. That’s DEI, let’s be real,” Josef Lukey, the Belmont University assistant director of Student Access and Flourishing, appeared to confirm in a video published Tuesday.
In another portion of the video, Lukey said that Belmont must operate “very carefully, and very cautiously,” before noting the recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation that resulted in nearly 200 illegal immigrants in Nashville being detained by ICE.
“We do have undocumented students here,” Lukey said in the video. He appeared to elaborate, “We don’t communicate to anybody externally who is undocumented and who isn’t. So I guess we know who it is, faculty don’t really know. How could they, unless it’s indicated in the system somewhere?”
🚨SCOOP: Leaked recordings from Belmont University in Red State Tennessee show that school officials are trying to trick the Trump administration by simply renaming their DEI program to HUB (Hope, Unity, and Belonging) while changing nothing.
In the recordings, assistant… pic.twitter.com/mBlVlFYWys
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) July 16, 2025
The purported admission prompted Ogles to suggest Belmont could be violating Senate Bill 392, which was signed into law earlier this year by Governor Bill Lee. It both established the crime of human smuggling within the State of Tennessee as a Class E felony and made it illegal for businesses and nonprofits to intentionally harbor illegal immigrants.
“Belmont University—a private nonprofit 501(c)(3)—may be violating Tennessee law by knowingly enrolling illegal aliens and profiting from their tuition,” wrote Ogles in a post to the social media platform X. “This potentially criminal conduct steals coveted spots at Belmont from deserving Middle Tennesseans—and hands them to lawbreakers.”
🚨 Belmont: Sanctuary University? 🚨
Belmont University—a private nonprofit 501(c)(3)—may be violating Tennessee law by knowingly enrolling illegal aliens and profiting from their tuition. Here is their own official admitting that illegal aliens are enrolled at Belmont.FYI:… pic.twitter.com/fWMKkNS1oo
— Rep. Andy Ogles (@RepOgles) July 18, 2025
With the law having taken effect on July 1, those accused of intentionally concealing, harboring, or shielding illegal immigrants will now face Class A misdemeanor charges and will face a $1,000 fine per illegal immigrant being harbored if proven guilty.
According to the legislation, “‘harbor’ means to provide shelter to or conceal the whereabouts of an individual whom the person knows has illegally entered or remained in the United States,” as determined by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE.
Ogles has additionally alleged, citing leaked materials from Belmont, which he said were provided by whistleblowers. The materials, an internal document and an email, appear to confirm the university was both recruiting for a DEI committee and requiring courses to contain DEI components as recently as April.
Ogles on Thursday confirmed that he asked U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to investigate Belmont for allegedly rebranding its DEI initiatives in an attempt to avoid scrutiny generated by President Donald Trump, who signed an executive order prohibiting federal funding for DEI at colleges and universities.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Andy Ogles” by Andy Ogles. Background Photo “Belmont University” by Lahti213. CC BY-SA 4.0.
SHAME ON BELMONT BOARD OF TRUSTEES, ESP BARBARA MASSEY.
I had the good fortune of being employed by Jack C Massey, when he purchased KFC from Col Harland Sanders, & moved the International Hdqtrs to Nashville.
He was one of the kindest, most interesting men in Nashville. I learned more from him than anyone in College or other jobs. He loved Belmont University. He is rolling in his grave at what Belmont U is doing to his legacy.
Belmont University was founded and maintained for decades by the sacrificial offerings and tuition payments of Southern Baptists whose desire was to have a Southern Baptist college. Liberal activists gained positions on its governance and reimagined Belmont from its original purpose. They then made it clear that Belmont was no longer a Baptist institution.
Since then, tax dollars have funded the student grants that have made possible the expansion and reimagining of Belmont as a base for progressive activism.
Good trouble, good sin?
Please clean up Nashville