U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) on Friday released his letter to the House Judiciary and Homeland Security committees that requested congressional probes into Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell for the actions he took in response to the recent immigration enforcement operation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP).
Ogles sent the letter on Wednesday to Representative Mark Green (R-TN-07), who chairs the House Committee on Homeland Security, and to Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH-04), the chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary.
“I write to request that your Committees investigate the conduct of Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell whose recent actions raise serious questions about whether a municipal official is now obstructing federal law enforcement and possibly even actively aiding and abetting illegal aliens,” wrote the congressman.
Ogles, whose district includes much of Nashville, first raised the possibility of congressional probes after O’Connell announced his response to the THP and ICE operation, which included signing an executive order that mandated Metro Nashville employees send information about interactions with federal immigration officials to the mayor and the Metro Nashville Office of New Americans, and announcing a new “Belonging Fund” that provides financial assistance to illegal immigrants.
The congressman wrote to Green and Jordan, “Rather than commend law enforcement for removing dangerous individuals from the streets, the mayor chose instead to signal that federal agents are to be surveilled and distrusted—not supported.”
He additionally wrote that O’Connell’s executive order “is not a transparency initiative,” but rather a “political weapon,” and noted that the Metro Nashville Community Review Board has called on citizens to file complaints against Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) officers coordinating with immigration enforcement.
“Let’s be clear: when city resources are used to obstruct federal officers and shield unlawful entrants—including convicted predators and violent offenders—from the consequences of violating immigration law, that conduct crosses a line,” wrote Ogles. “If any municipal personnel are impeding removals, facilitating evasion, or interfering with ICE operations, such conduct is at best inappropriate and may be illegal.”
Ogles, sharing the letter to the social media platform X, similarly warned that O’Connell may have violated the law.
Nashville Mayor O’Connell supports pro-illegal policies and his actions indicate a possible use of municipal resources to undermine President Trump. I sent a letter to Chairs Mark Green and Jim Jordan, demanding we get to the bottom of it.
Harboring illegals is a crime. pic.twitter.com/UmYgqOn8Pr
— Rep. Andy Ogles (@RepOgles) May 16, 2025
“Nashville Mayor O’Connell supports pro-illegal policies and his actions indicate a possible use of municipal resources to undermine President Trump,” he wrote. “Harboring illegals is a crime.”
For his part, O’Connell has suggested that Metro Nashville could sue the Trump administration, claiming without evidence that some of those arrested by ICE may have been in the country legally, and were simply driving in Nashville without evidence of their legal status.
“I think there is a strong probability that people have been detained who are here legally but simply did not have documentation with them as they were driving on the streets in Nashville,” said O’Connell. “So, we want to validate that.”
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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].
He is putting his Police and Fire departments in danger of being charged as an accessories to Federal crime. Making public servants report to their superiors if they have any interaction or sightings immediately so the Mayor can send his activists out where the ICE agents are trying to make arrest and causing the disruption in ICE from doing their job.
This article referenced the Metro Nashville Office of New Americans. Well, Just because you paid some criminal to get your sorry hinder to the American border, and pudding brain Bidens handlers said come on in, absolutely DOES NOT automatically make you an American!
Every week now I learn more and more about how Nashville has turned into another big city, liberal, cesspool. DHS and the DOJ need to take a long hard look at what is going on there, and the majority of legal Tennesseans will support them 100%