The claim by Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s office that the proposed $735,000 grant for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), a nonprofit that supports illegal aliens, is “not new” spending appears to contradict Metro Nashville’s own Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Expenditures Overview, which lists no spending in the TIRRC funding account for FY 2024, FY 2025, or FY 2026, before the proposed $735,000 appears in FY 2027.
In light of criticism from Tennessee State House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville), as well as U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05), WKRN on Thursday reported, “the mayor’s office said the funding proposal is ‘not new,’ adding that Metro has supported immigration legal services for years.”
While Metro’s FY2027 budget documents show no spending in the TIRRC funding account for FY2024, FY2025, or FY2026, The Tennessee Star additionally obtained the city’s current contract with TIRRC, which expires on June 30, 2026.
The contract does not appear to match the description of the grant offered on Wednesday by a spokesman for O’Connell’s office, who told The Star the city would prohibit the use of funds to provide legal representation, legal assistance, counseling, or advocacy for illegal aliens, and would be subject to “fiscal and programmatic monitoring” from the Office of Financial Accountability.
O’Connell’s spokesperson told The Star, “The grant is to support people working to maintain compliance with applicable immigration laws and policies.”
Asked if TIRRC has informed Metro whether any portion of its immigration legal services includes clients who are illegal aliens, the spokesperson replied, “TIRRC is aware of the grant requirements.”
If O’Connell’s spokesperson meant the proposed FY 2027 funding would continue the services previously funded through the city’s 2022 contract with TIRRC, then the statement appears to conflict with the mayor’s office’s response to The Star. The earlier contract, unlike the proposed FY 2027 grant, was funded through former President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), and included immigration legal services beyond citizenship or lawful-status maintenance.
The 2022 contract, including a 2024 amendment, awarded just over $3.7 million to a program administered by TIRRC and Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors (TNJFON) combined over four years. O’Connell’s proposed budget additionally includes $718,000 for TNJFON in FY 2027. Of the total, TIRRC received about $2.6 million.
While O’Connell’s spokesperson told The Star that the proposed grant for FY 2027 would not support illegal aliens, the 2022-2026 program explicitly includes legal funding for aliens who are in removal proceedings.
It also authorizes legal services for clients seeking asylum, protection from deportation, or who are Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients.
In addition to providing legal services and support, the contract authorizes TIRRC and TNJFON to help aliens in removal proceedings to navigate immigration court without lawyers. It also suggested programs offering education about how to obtain public services.
The Star contacted O’Connell’s office on Friday to ask how it reconciles the claim that the proposed grant in FY 2027 is “not new” spending with the budget schedule showing no spending in FY 2024, FY 2025, and FY 2026, and whether the proposed new spending will be subject to different restrictions than the existing Metro-TIRRC contract, but did not receive an immediate response.
Nashville alt-daily blogger The Pamphleteer first raised the proposed $735,000 grant last month, and noted that TIRRC’s affiliated political action committee, TIRRC Votes, endorsed O’Connell during his 2023 campaign for mayor.
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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 “Mayor Freddie O’Connell” by Mayor Freddie O’Connell and “City Hall” is by CMHPictures CC2.0
