The Davidson County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) on Tuesday told The Tennessee Star that it submitted data to the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference (TNDAGC), who in turn confirmed to The Star that it received data covering the month of October 2024 from DCSO after The Star first contacted the agency seeking information about which Tennessee law enforcement agencies had submitted data in compliance with a Tennessee state law.
“We provided a spreadsheet of data, as required by statute, to the TNDAGC of those booked into Davidson County jails,” said Jonathan Adams, the director of communications for DCSO.
Elizabeth Dixon, a spokesman for TNDAGC similarly told The Star, “I can confirm that after I sent you our original response on Saturday, January 4th, we received the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office’s October Immigration Report.”
The Star on Monday published its article revealing some Tennessee law enforcement is not fulfilling their mandate to report data to TNDAGC, who is legally required to complete a report accounting for the expense incurred to Tennessee taxpayers by illegal immigrants who are processed through the criminal justice system for the purpose of seeking reimbursement from the federal government for the results of President Joe Biden’s immigration policy.
Dixon told The Star DCSO submitted only its October data, though she previously told The Star that the nearby Williamson County Sheriff’s Office submitted data for the entire reporting period covering October through December of 2024.
The TNDAGC was not immediately able to clarify whether the data submitted by DCSO would be sufficient to determine the number cost of encounters with illegal immigrants incurred by MNPD.
Asked whether Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) records citizenship data of those arrested, spokesman Don Aaron told The Star the department records “a person’s Place of Birth based on the information the arrestee provides,” but when pressed specifically about citizenship, suggested DCSO is the law enforcement agency covering Nashville that is responsible for ascertaining citizenship.
The Star also contacted the office of Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell to determine what involvement the mayor has over immigration reporting policies, including whether data is provided to the federal government and TNDAGC.
Spokesman Alex Apple told The Star, “This is not something the Mayor’s Office would have involvement in.”
Despite a Tennessee law mandating law enforcement agencies report the citizenship data of individuals arrested in their jurisdiction to federal agencies including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a Nashville web page claims immigration enforcement is solely the job of the federal government.
On a Nashville web page containing frequently asked questions for police, the city says, “MNPD does not make inquiry about immigration status in the course of routine duties,” except for when seeking an immigration visa to help the victim of a crime remain in the country.
“Considering that immigration status is irrelevant to police in carrying out our duties, there is no foreseeable impact to most of the interactions-enforcement activities, investigation of crimes, or providing services to victims,” the web page states.
While Apple told The Star the mayor’s office does not participate in decisions about reporting immigration status, he told The Nashville Banner in August that the state’s new requirement for law enforcement to report to ICE “is an unfunded mandate from the state that also comes with no training or enforcement.”
O’Connell’s spokesman also told the outlet that MNPD was “active” in its “outreach to immigrant communities … to maintain trust amidst the passage of this legislation.”
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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].
