Metro Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell on May 1 proposed more than $700,000 in his annual budget for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), a nonprofit supporting illegal aliens living in Tennessee.
TIRRC partnered with the city last year to provide relief for those impacted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), was asked by the Biden administration to support the release of aliens into Tennessee’s interior, and whose affiliated political action committee endorsed O’Connell during his successful 2023 race for mayor.
First highlighted on Thursday by the alt-daily Nashville blog, The Pamphleteer, the Nashville budget ordinance proposed for Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 includes $735,000 for TIRRC as part of the city’s spending on Recreational, Cultural, Conservation and Community Support.
In the line item, TIRRC is called the “TN Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition.”
O’Connell touted his longtime relationship with TIRRC in December 2024, when he was interviewed about how his administration was preparing for the federal immigration policy shifts it expected following President Donald Trump’s second term in the White House.
He told The Tennessean that the “slice” of Nashville represented by TIRRC, “is very, very concerned about changes in federal (immigration) policy.”
Highlighting his relationship with the organization, the newspaper reported O’Connell also stated, “I’ve had years of conversations and successful collaboration with TIRCC [sic] and so we, we want to get this right for the entire city.”
O’Connell’s comments to the newspaper came just months after The Tennessee Star revealed the group reported receiving more than $3 million in government funding in its tax filings.
The comments also followed the affiliated TIRRC Votes PAC’s support for O’Connell’s transportation referendum during the November 2024 elections. Records reveal the PAC donated more than $34,000 to support the mayor’s proposal.
Earlier that year, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti won a significant legal victory in Tennessee’s lawsuit to stop the Biden administration’s effort to release thousands of illegal aliens from a Louisiana detention facility and into Tennessee.
As part of its plan, the Biden administration enlisted assistance from nonprofits, including TIRRC, but abandoned the effort following the lawsuit, as well as sharp opposition from Governor Bill Lee and U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).
Last year, TIRRC was named as one of two nonprofits “coordinating the provision” of the “Belonging Fund” championed by O’Connell in response to the joint enforcement operation between ICE and the Tennessee Highway Patrol. Before it began actively coordinating the funds raised, TIRRC contributed over $30,000 to the effort.
After the operation concluded, TIRRC sued to obtain names of the nearly 200 illegal aliens arrested during the joint operation.
The Metro Council is expected to vote on the budget on June 17.
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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.
Freddie I want a Christmas parade, not pride month.
It seems the mayor is tone deaf, he is not hearing the people. He is using limited tax monies to fund a partisan interest. Lost in his reasoning is the monies are funding services to those here illegally. At the same time, law enforcement and courts are funding case prosecution so you have the public funding both the defense and the prosecution and the court.
This is an offense to all law-abiding citizens. Freddie needs to be removed.
New mayor needed. Please apply.
This is no surprise. This socialist knows who votes for him. Nashville deserves what they elected.
Taxpayer funds should not be used for charities
Taxpayer phones should not be used for this purpose and should be outlawed by state government. If not the total federal government sky cares more about than legal than legal citizens