Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, said Metro Nashville’s newly approved $1.5 million for two immigration-focused nonprofits raises serious questions about transparency and compliance with state law.
Speaking with guest host of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show Judson Phillips one day after the Metro Nashville Council approved a $3.8 billion budget, Pappert described the council’s actions as “something out of a Star Wars movie.”
“It was The Empire Strikes Back times two or three,” he said.
The Metro Council voted 35-2 on Tuesday to approve the $3.8 billion budget, which preserved a combined $1.5 million in funding for grants to the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) and Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors (TNJFON).
Pappert noted how his reporting leading up to the council’s approval of the funding sought to determine how the funds would be used.
“We’ve been trying to figure out exactly what this money is going for,” he said. “Why do these two groups need $1.5 million? Why do nonprofits in general need money from Metro Nashville? And we could not get a clear answer.”
According to Pappert, information obtained through reporting on earlier grant agreements contradicted assurances from city officials regarding the purpose of the funding.
“We were told from the mayor’s office, from a spokesman, that this is not going to go for things like lawyers. This is not going to go for things like teaching illegal immigrants how to navigate the immigration courts,” Pappert said.
He continued, “We looked at that, and we found out that is exactly what it’s going to go for. It’s going to go for paying for illegal immigrants to get legal representation, educating them on how to deal with the immigration court system.”
Pappert said he believes the funding serves broader political goals.
“Why do you need this much money for so few people? It’s because this is about advocacy. This is about achieving political objectives, in my opinion, with the taxpayers’ money,” he said.
The Star recently filed a public records request seeking documentation related to the grants. During Wednesday’s interview, Pappert questioned whether Metro Nashville had complied with state transparency requirements.
“We still do not know exactly what this $1.5 million was going to go for because Metro Nashville says they don’t have any records for it,” Pappert said.
He explained how state law requires certain information to be made available for public inspection before nonprofit grants are approved.
“It was never available for public inspection,” Pappert said. “Michael Patrick Leahy went down there or offered to go down there in person to inspect it, and they essentially told him, ‘We don’t have it because we’re operating based on this 2022 agreement that’s been signed now for four years.'”
Pappert also suggested the funding may warrant further legal review.
“I don’t think so, at least not yet,” Pappert said when asked whether any legal challenges were being prepared. “But I know that this is, in my mind, something that a legal advocacy group should be excited about because there’s, again, I’m no lawyer … but it seems to me there’s multiple layers of plain incorrect, potentially illegal behavior on behalf of Nashville.”
He noted criticism from several Tennessee Republican leaders, including U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville).
“We’ve heard, of course, from the potential, I would argue likely, next governor of Tennessee, Marsha Blackburn, who said that this is a disgrace and it should be reversed,” Pappert said. “Speaker of the House of the State of Tennessee, Cameron Sexton, said the same thing. He suggested that it may be illegal and it may constitute a violation of Tennessee’s laws against sanctuary cities.”
Looking ahead, Pappert predicted the controversy surrounding the grants is far from over.
“We still have no idea if or when or what they’re going to give us in response,” he said regarding the public records request. “I have a feeling that is not going to go away.”
He added, We are going to have to push very hard and figure out what was the basis of this $1.5 million, and this story is only going to get bigger.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Freddie O’Connell” by Freddie O’Connell.
