TN Republicans' bill would oust officials who release 'confidential' immigration enforcement details

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Source: Nashville Tennessean

TN Republicans' bill would oust officials who release 'confidential' immigration enforcement details

Rachel Wegner and Austin Hornbostel, Nashville Tennessean
Tue, June 10, 2025 at 12:43 PM EDT 4 min read

Top Tennessee Republican lawmakers have proposed a bill that would make it a felony and grounds for removal if public officials jeopardize the safety of federal law enforcement officers or disrupt federal immigration enforcement by revealing confidential operation details.

The bill, filed by House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson on June 9, comes after a weeklong operation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Nashville in early May. The operation led to hundreds of traffic stops, in coordination with the Tennessee Highway Patrol, and nearly 200 arrests.

Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell has been under scrutiny from state and federal Republican leaders over his response to the arrests. During the operation, O'Connell updated an existing executive order that requires city departments to report communications with federal immigration officials to the mayor's office, tightening the timeline for those reports.

Even in its original version, the executive order included a provision that those communications be posted online for transparency. When O’Connell's office posted that list in late May, it originally included the names of some officials who called. Those names have since been removed from the version of the spreadsheet posted online.

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Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/tn-republicans-bill-oust-officials-164301613.html