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***Note from The Tennessee Conservative – this article posted here for informational purposes only. It has been edited for writing style and length.
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Article by Sarah Grace Taylor, Nashville Banner [Creative Commons] –
Several Tennessee law enforcement agencies aided ICE in a late-night Memphis sting operation weekend before last, resulting in more than 100 detentions, in what witnesses describe as a catch-all raid on a Latino-populated nightclub.
While ICE and Memphis city officials claim the sweeping operation was geared toward immigration enforcement, it was done under the guise of a criminal search warrant issued to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations and with support from the Tennessee Highway Patrol.
According to witnesses, troopers blocked traffic on both sides of the club while ICE and other federal agents descended upon the building, arresting more than 100 employees and patrons. Security guards say the federal agents took the club’s video footage and blocked the entrance with a large bus as people were loaded onto the bus with cable wrist restraints.
The club was targeted during peak nightlife hours, late on a Saturday night into Sunday morning. Witnesses say people inside were told they were under arrest, and few, if any, were let go before being taken to a Memphis ICE office.
According to sources in Memphis, those arrested are being urged by the federal government to “self-deport,” even before speaking to legal counsel.
In a release on Tuesday, ICE said agents arrested 121 people during the raid, which started around 1:30 a.m. on Sunday at El Corralon, an immigrant-owned club frequented by Memphis’ Latino population.
“This criminal enforcement operation to arrest illegal aliens and eliminate drug activity in our community is part of the highest priorities of this administration,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) New Orleans Acting Field Office Director Scott Ladwig. “Our officers remain committed to enforcing the law professionally, protecting the public, and upholding the trust placed in us by the American people.”
The agency says they arrested at least five people with criminal records, ranging from drug possession to driving under the influence.
In the release, ICE also says it was executing federal search warrants on the club, though the Banner has obtained copies of warrants signed by Shelby County Judge Carolyn Addison, which allowed a special agent Britany Feffer of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to search the club for controlled substances and evidence of illegal gambling.
Under the second Trump Administration, Tennessee has gone from two local agencies cooperating in the federal 287(g) program to help with immigration enforcement, an action only under federal jurisdiction, to 119 participating state and local agencies, including the Tennessee Highway Patrol. The TBI does not have a publicly listed 287(g) cooperation agreement with ICE, though several other state investigation bureaus do.
It’s unclear whether the TBI, THP or both coordinated with ICE to allow the raid to take place while the search warrant was executed. A small handful of women detained at the club were reportedly released that night because of pending immigration cases or visas.
When asked about the Banner’s reporting on the raid and law enforcement’s conduct, THP Colonel Matt Perry said the agency had been rejecting requests to help with additional enforcement after the Nashville operation. Sunday’s sting is the first known coordination on an immigration-specific raid between the two agencies in the six months since Perry’s comments.
