Public records reveal that Conexion Americas, the second of three nonprofits Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell and his office said provided seed money to the “Belonging Fund,” used to “support immigrants in Nashville during moments of crisis,” received nearly $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money from Metro Nashville over 2023 and 2024.
The 2023 Full Cost Plan published by Metro Nashville revealed Conexion Americas received $394,140 in ARPA money that year, with the entry listed as “Conexion Americas Eviction Serv.” There was no overhead or other expenses reflected in the report, suggesting Metro Nashville merely transferred the money to Conexion Americas.
It appears Conexion Americas received this money in accordance with a June 7, 2022, resolution passed by the Metro Council, appropriating $2.6 million in ARPA money to “provide legal representation to low and moderate-income Davidson County renters to defend against landlord eviction.”
Sponsors of the resolution included O’Connell, who was then a member of the Metro Council.
The money was awarded to fund a “two-year pilot program” recommended by the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands and Conexion Americas, who both said they would use the taxpayer dollars to “provide outreach, pre-filing legal aid, direct legal representation, and program evaluation,” to individuals facing eviction.
Of this $2.6 million, $676,559 was allocated to Conexion Americas to cover administrative costs associated with the program.
Metro Nashville’s 2024 Full Cost Plan shows Conexion Americas received another $594,919 in taxpayer dollars last year. The money was also from the Biden-era stimulus funding, bringing the total amount of federal taxpayer money awarded to the group up to $989,059 by the time that report was published.
At least some of the money paid to Conexion Americas during this period appears to correspond to a February 23, 2024, resolution, which was sponsored by Council Members Zulfat Suara, Sandra Sepulveda, Courtney Johnston, Jennifer Gamble, Delishia Porterfield, Russ Bradford, Ginny Welsch, Burkley Allen, Emily Benedict, Jordan Huffman, Kyonzte Toombs, Jacob Kupin, Brenda Gadd, Terry Vo, and Quin Evans-Segall.
Notably, this resolution did not specify that Conexion Americas would receive the Biden-era stimulus money directly from Metro Nashville, but instead that the eviction program would be funded by a $1.6 million transfer of ARPA funds to the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, and $747,000 to the National Hispanic Bar Association (NHBA).
Additionally, Conexion Americas does not appear to reference the program, eventually branded the Eviction Right to Council (ERTC), on its website, but is listed as a member of the “alliance” behind the initiative by the NHBA.
The nonprofit states that its mission is to “build a welcoming community and create opportunities where Latino families can belong, contribute, and succeed,” and claims to annually assist more than 14,000 individuals or families. An online flyer reveals services offered by Conexion Americas include English language and computer literacy lessons, free tax preparation, as well as “assistance with U.S. passport applications, notarization, and more.”
Conexion Americas is the second nonprofit which seeded the “Belonging Fund” which is now revealed to have received significant sums of taxpayer money from Metro Nashville, following the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), which The Tennessee Star reported last week received nearly $3 million in ARPA funds from Metro, even after an audit raised questions about TIRRC’s ability to track the money it sends to other nonprofits.
U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05), whose district includes much of Nashville, reported on Monday that the House Judiciary Committee and Homeland Security Committee will begin probes into O’Connell after the congressman questioned whether the mayor’s decision to tie Nashville to the fund, as well as his executive order mandating Metro employees report contacts with federal immigration officials to his office and the Office of New Americans, violate federal law.
“When a mayor stands up, and is defending those types of individuals over our hardworking law enforcement, Homeland Security, ICE, THP, and the sheriff’s department in the city, he is choosing criminals over Tennesseans,” said Ogles.
Metro Councilman David Benton additionally told The Star on Tuesday that the transfer of funds between the federal government, Metro government, and various nonprofits could rise to the level of racketeering.
“If that were true, we might be entering into a RICO violation conspiring to use Federal funds to evade federal immigration or working together to fraudulently use federal funds to support unlawful immigration, a combination of RICO and 1324,” said Benton, before questioning, “why do we even need to give the appearance of this?”
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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 “Conexion Americas Protest” by Conexion Americas.
