Metro Nashville’s FY 2024 Full Cost Allocation Plan revealed that the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), a key supporter of Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s new “Belonging Fund” for immigrant communities, including illegal immigrants, received more than $1 million from the city in 2024 as a result of former President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan (ARP). The mayor’s office said the Belonging Fund is a collaboration with Metro Nashville and the Community Fund of Middle Tennessee, a 501(c)(3) which touts on its website that it doled out a staggering $78 million dollars in grants in 2023.
The Tennessee Star previously reported that federal tax filings by TIRRC indicate the group has received nearly $3 million in government grant funding since 2020, though federal databases only showed the nonprofit received a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) totaling roughly $300,000. The most recent tax data available from TIRRC is from 2023, though the group estimated it would receive almost $900,000 in grant money last year.
The data from Metro Nashville revealed that in 2024, TIRRC received $1,150,000 in ARP funding from the city.
The $2 trillion ARP was passed by Congress in 2021 at Biden’s urging. Less than 9 percent of the money was aimed directly at combating COVID-19, while significant portions were aimed at providing rental assistance, direct payments, and tax rebates. Two years after the stimulus package passed, just 21 percent of voters supported said it helped them.
Coded as “American Rescue Plan Act-COVID Stimulus” within the city’s financial document, no portion of the grant involved salaries, wages, benefits, or operating expenses, suggesting the city merely transferred the roughly $1.1 million to TIRRC.
Though the document did not explicitly confirm the meaning behind the TIRRC acronym, an additional $1,026,579 in ARP funding was awarded to an entity named “Conexion Americas Eviction Serv,” which appears to be part of the Conexion Americas nonprofit.
O’Connell’s office said last week that Conexion Americas was one of the three groups which provided more than $30,000 in seed funding to the “Belonging Fund,” alongside TIRRC and Tennessee Justice For Our Neighbors.
While TIRRC is vehemently opposed to the recent joint immigration enforcement operation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Tennessee Highway Patrol, with its executive director accusing law enforcement of “kidnapping” people based on the color of their skin, the group was previously approached by the Biden administration to facilitate the release of thousands of illegal immigrants into Tennessee in 2022.
That plan was only foiled when TIRRC suggested the Biden administration brief Governor Bill Lee on the plan, which quickly prompted legal action from Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti.
Skrmetti’s lawsuit was ultimately successful, and last year the federal government gave his office access to dozens of emails illustrating the collaboration between Biden-era ICE officials, Nashville government leaders, and TIRRC.
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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].
Image “Community Fund of Middle Tennessee” by Community Fund of Middle Tennessee.
Our Attorney General is a great man! He is truly a Patriot and a Tennessean!
Illegal. Should be closed.
DEAR FREDDIE:
STOP WASTING OUR TAX DOLLARS, WHILE YOU INCREASE OUR TAXES. MAYBE THIS IS THE REAL REASON FOR THE PROPERTY TAX HIKE.
NO ONE TRUSTS YOU OR ANY DEMOCRATS WITH OUR TAX DOLLARS.
TIRRC is a blight on the community. Why do they continue to have a non-profit status? I suppose one could just follow the money.