Jerri Green, the Democratic nominee for Tennessee Governor, received the endorsement last month of a political action committee (PAC) linked to one of the pro-illegal alien nonprofits that received nearly $1.5 million in grants from Metro Nashville.
The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Coalition (TIRRC) Votes political action committee (PAC) endorsed Green on August 11, the Memphis City Council member and Georgetown University School of Law graduate who secured the Democratic Party’s gubernatorial nominee in August.
“We are excited to endorse Jerri Green to be the next governor of Tennessee,” stated TIRRC Votes PAC senior director Pratik Dash. “During her time as the mayor’s deputy chief of staff, she led efforts to help resettle Afghan Refugees in Memphis. She has also always opposed the federal occupation in Memphis and has called for ICE out of our neighborhoods!”
The PAC is the 501(c)(4) affiliate of TIRRC, which provides support, attorneys, and guidance to illegal aliens in Tennessee. In its budget for fiscal year (FY) 2027, the Metro Nashville Council appropriated $735,000 for TIRRC.
TIRRC Votes PAC’s endorsement of Green comes after months of campaign promises and rhetoric involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Green’s campaign website states that she would direct the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) to stop cooperating with ICE, and in February clarified that she meant ending the 287(g) agreement, which allows state authorities to perform certain federal immigration tasks.
“We don’t need to be in any way working with ICE,” said Green, according to NewsChannel 11. Green went on to call for ICE to be “defunded” and “abolished,” with the resources redirected to community assistance.
In June, she told Tennessee Matters that she would also ban county sheriffs from entering into 287(g) agreements that allow local authorities to perform certain immigration enforcement tasks.
“We have many things that we would end immediately, but we would end our 287(g) agreements so that ICE would not be cooperating with our state sheriff’s departments,” said Green.
“There are people who I’ve met across the state, who are Native American, or Asian or British, that carry their passports with them, their papers, like it’s Nazi Germany,” claimed Green.
“I think our diversity is our strength, and I think Tennesseans believe that too,” she added.
Green again called for ICE to be defunded on August 14, when she appeared on PBS to declare ICE should be “abolished and abandoned,” while claiming that immigration enforcement could still be performed by other branches of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and ICE – Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), as well as the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Democrat made similar remarks to The Nashville Banner on Tuesday, when the publication asked whether she supported THP working with ICE.
“No, and I would seek to end 287(g) agreements on Day One if I were elected.” Green claimed, “Right now, ICE is serving as a conduit for the wishes of the President, rather than the needs of our communities.”
Before the FY 27 budget was passed, The Tennessee Star filed public records requests with Metro Nashville seeking the statutorily required documents, including the city’s justification for the $735,000 grant awarded to TIRRC. Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s office has claimed the documents were subject to attorney-client privilege; the Metro Nashville Clerk provided a series of emails that did not contain the relevant information; and the Metro Council estimated last month that it would complete its review of documents in November.
TIRRC Votes notably endorsed O’Connell in 2023, and O’Connell has touted “years” of “successful collaboration” with TIRRC. A Democratic political consultant who previously worked for the other pro-illegal alien nonprofit that received a grant from Metro now manages the mayor’s reelection campaign.
Polling recently found U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) leading Green by 21 percentage points.
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Jerri Green” by Jerri Green.
