The first few months of President Donald J. Trump’s second administration have outlined the differing priorities of Republican and Democrat elected officials across the nation. One side is dedicated to keeping local communities safe from violent criminals. The other side is travelling to El Salvador to visit an alleged member of MS-13 who was accused by his wife of kicking, slapping […]
The first few months of President Donald J. Trump’s second administration have outlined the differing priorities of Republican and Democrat elected officials across the nation.
One side is dedicated to keeping local communities safe from violent criminals. The other side is travelling to El Salvador to visit an alleged member of MS-13 who was accused by his wife of kicking, slapping and threatening her.
Nowhere has this divide been clearer than in Tennessee.
Tennessee leads the fight against illegal immigration in America
On May 3, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) began conducting a joint operation in South Nashville. The THP made hundreds of stops for observed traffic violations, and ICE detained 196 individuals.
In this group are several gang members, including at least one Tren de Aragua member, an MS-13 gang member wanted for murder, a convicted child sex predator, and several drug dealers, according to a United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) dossier obtained by the Daily Wire.
The DHS announced that nearly half of the arrested individuals, 95, had prior criminal convictions or pending charges, and 31 had re-entered the United States after previously being removed, which is a felony offense.
I was proud to pass legislation last year that made an operation like this possible in the Volunteer State. Public Chapter 716 requires law enforcement agencies in Tennessee to communicate with federal immigration authorities when they encounter someone in the country illegally, or to cooperate with the feds in identifying, apprehending, detaining and removing illegal aliens.
It sounds like common-sense legislation, and it is. But just one Democrat in the House voted in favor of keeping Tennessee communities safe. This is because Democrat leaders care less about public safety and protecting law-abiding Americans than they do about ensuring the extreme fringes of their base are pleased.
The scary part: These folks won’t be happy unless we have no border at all.
Locally elected Democrats prioritize illegal immigrants over their own citizens
“No one should want these criminal illegal aliens to be loose on American streets,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said following the Nashville operation. The vast majority of Tennesseans and Nashvillians would agree.
But Democrat elected officials in Music City are singing a different tune.
“What’s clear is that federal and state authorities are intent on enforcing immigration law. Their approach is not what our understanding of a Nashville for all looks like,” Democrat Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell said at a press conference.
I can assure Mayor O’Connell that, yes, the state government is intent on partnering with federal agencies to enforce immigration laws and keep communities safe.
Several of my colleagues on the other side of the political aisle in the Tennessee House have made troubling statements since this public safety operation began. Rep. John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville, recently said that “every Tennessean should be concerned,” while Rep. Aftyn Behn, D-Nashville, admitted to and laughed about purposefully stalling ICE and THP troopers when they were simply trying to do their jobs.
These same Democrats were silent earlier this year when an alarming report showed 2,719 reported crimes committed by illegal immigrants in Tennessee over just a three-month period, including 11 homicides, three cases of rape of a child, and several aggravated kidnappings.
In a special-called meeting of the Metro Nashville Council’s Public Health and Safety Committee on May 7, District 7 Council Member Emily Benedict demanded a nonsensical plan of action following the ICE arrests. Benedict proposed posting an “Immigrant Bill of Rights” in every Metro building and defunding the Metro Nashville Police Department’s budget by $10 million to reallocate the funds to the public defender’s office for legal resources for immigrants.
Nashville residents should be outraged.
Democrats’ failures on immigration are why Tennesseans don’t trust them to lead
Unsurprisingly, many of these Democrats are now criticizing the THP and the Metro Nashville Police Department, despite the latter having no role in the operation.
The reality is that THP and local law enforcement agencies across the state work tirelessly to keep communities safe. Just last month, in April 2025, the West Tennessee Drug Task Force discovered more than 200 pounds of cocaine – $9 million worth – in a traffic stop on I-40 in Haywood County.
Tennessee voters know that real solutions and efforts to make the Volunteer State safer are not priorities of the Democratic party, which is why no Democrat has been elected to a statewide office since 2006. Instead, Tennesseans have repeatedly placed their trust in a Republican supermajority that has accomplished more to fight the scourge of illegal immigration than any other state.
We were one of the first states to ban sanctuary cities seven years ago, and this year, we passed legislation to strengthen this prohibition. We’ve made incredible progress over the past decade, and I’m proud to be part of a majority that continues to demagnetize Tennessee from the illegal immigration crisis.
It’s a shame that some Tennesseans have local elected officials who care more about protecting illegal immigrants than law-abiding citizens. I encourage all residents who feel deserted to join our fight to put Tennesseans first by prioritizing the safety, security, and economic well-being of those lawfully in our country.
State Rep. Rusty Grills of Newbern represents District 77 in the Tennessee House of Representatives, which includes Dyer, Lake, and part of Obion counties.