by Rod Williams, May 16, 2025- ICE recently removed what at first appears to be some really bad people from our community.
Earlier this week Immigration and Customs Enforcement in a coordinated effort with the Tennessee Highway Patrol conducted nearly 600 traffic stops in the Nolensville Road area. The result of these stops was that 196 people were arrested. Of those arrested, DHS reports 95 had prior criminal convictions or pending criminal charges, and 31 were previously removed individuals who reentered the U.S. illegally. Some of these people were allegedly rapist and people charged with armed robbery and some were drug dealers.
The first thing I question when learning of this is, is this true? Were there that many criminals and formerly deported among those stopped? Donald Trump lies constantly. Any sit-down conversation with a journalist or oval office news conference will contain numerous falsehoods uttered by Donald Trump. If one were writing a book titled, The One Thousand Lies of Donald Trump, they would not run out of material. His lies set the tone for those below him.
The biggest lie of course is that the 2020 election was stolen. People who do not accept that lie are not welcome in the Trump administration and if already in responsible positions in the government are likely to be fired for not accepting the lie. When accepting a lie is a basic requirement to be in good standing with the administration, then lying becomes the currency of the realm. When one understands the desired narrative, the "facts" can be created to support the narrative.
By claiming so many of the arrested were bad people this advances the Trump narrative that says undocumented immigrants are mostly bad people. I hate that I have reached a point that I no longer can accept as true something as basic as a statement telling me x number of those arrested were criminals, but that is where I am. Unless I have reason to believe something said by a Trump official, my default position is to doubt it.
Mayor Freddie O'Connell has asked for a list of those arrested and the charges against them. He is right to do so. Until such a list is released, there is no reason to believe that the "facts" DHS is providing are real.
If one accepts what DHS tells us about the 600 traffic stops and if 196 warranted arrests, that is 32%. That is a lot of bad people. Of course, one must ask why did they warrant arrest? We just don't know. It may be that they were arrested for driving without a license. Since illegal immigrants cannot get a license, one would assume that the undocumented aliens stopped did not have a driver's license. Normally, driving without a license result in a ticket and not arrest, but I am not going to be shocked if most of the 196 who were arrested were not arrested for this misdemeanor offense. If so, they are not really bad people. I would like to know why they were arrested before I draw any conclusions about them.
If 95 of 600 are indeed criminals (or former criminals), that is 15%. That looks to be a high number. However, when you put it into perspective, it is really not that high. It is hard to know how many criminals are among us, but a random stop of Americans would probably show more than 15% to have a criminal record. According to the Brennen Center for Justice nearly one-third of the adult working age population has a criminal record and nearly half of black males and almost 40 percent of white males are arrested by the age 23. So, if 15% of those stopped have a rap sheet, that is actually a low percentage. This tells us that a way to lower the crime rate is to have more illegal immigration.
Of the 600 stopped, 5% had illegally entered the United States previously, been deported and reentered. It is hard to generate sympathy for these people, and I think they should be prosecuted and deported. However, 5% is not an alarming number.
Often defenders of illegal immigration tell us that illegal aliens are heroic desperate people fleeing violence and poverty looking for a better life in America. Trump and his sycophants tell us that immigrants are rapist and murderers and really bad people, even saying they are eating our cats and dogs. This raid shows us they are just people.
When the raid occurred, Mayor Freddie O'Connell said, “Our community’s strength lies in its diversity and the invaluable contributions of those who have chosen to make Nashville their home." Is that true? I think diversity can be oversold. There is something also to be said for homogeneity and compatibility in a society. I support toleration and acceptance, but I am not so sure that diversity for diversities sake is a strength.
While I think many oversale diversity, it does make a community more interesting. It certainly leads to more great places to eat. When there is any influx of people from other lands, it improves the culinary landscape. It creates a more cosmopolitan atmosphere. As far as the "invaluable contribution," I think that may be oversold also. However, they do contribute to our economic well-being. Immigrants create a better life for the rest of us. They do the jobs we don't want to do. Look at any lawncare crew and it is made up mostly of Hispanics. I do my own lawncare, but I am the exception in my neighborhood. If we deport large numbers of undocumented aliens, middle class Americans will have to cut their own grass.
In landscaping, lawncare, construction, caregiving, cleaning hotel rooms, dishwashing, and many other fields, the people doing the work are immigrants and many of them are illegal immigrants. We need these people. When the traffic stops happened earlier this week, fear of arrest spread throughout the immigrant community and several of the big honkytonks on Lower Broad had to close their kitchens. Many of their employees simply did not show up for work. If mass deportation occurs or most self deport, we will miss them when they are gone. While I think some defenders of immigration, especially illegal immigration, may oversale the benefits of diversity and romanticize immigrants, I think it is fair to say we would be worse off if we lost the benefits of cheap immigrant labor.
There is another reason we need immigrants. America, like many other wealthy advanced countries, has a declining birthrate. If one looks at Social Security as an example, it is essentially a transfer payment. People paying in today are the ones paying the benefits of those receiving Social Security today. We need more people, not only for Social Security but a declining population results in declining productivity. Unless Americans start having larger families we need immigrants.
One thing that should be kept in mind in looking at the Nashville ICE traffic stops and other ICE raids, is that the people arrested under the ICE traffic stops were not arrested under authority of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. The application of that Act to remove illegal aliens is questionable. One can be consistent and oppose deportations under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 and still favor immigration enforcement. Not all immigration enforcement is equally offensive. Deportation can be done and be done legally. While I do not think we need massive deportation, I am more concerned about the how of deportation than the deportation itself. While deportation by itself may not be in America's self-interest, it is the denial of due process and the trampling of the constitution that concerns me most.
When the traffic stops occurred resulting in arrest and hauling away in busses of the arrested, TV news reports showed crying mothers and children outside the bus reaching out to touch the window glass where their loved one was on the other side. It is heartbreaking and makes for good TV.
The family separation angle of the story gets a lot of attention. One can sympathize with families who are separated from their loved ones but that should not dictate public policy. Family separation is a fact of life. When they came to America and furthermore when they committed crime, if they committed a crime, they should have known family separation was a possible outcome of their actions. It is sad when families are torn apart. We should have compassion. Avoiding family separation should be a factor in immigration policy. However, if should not be the sole determining factor. Family separation occurs when a spouse or parent or child is sent to prison. Family separation occurs when a member of the US armed forces is deployed. Family separation occurs when a divorce occurs, and a parent loses custody or is denied visitation. It is a tragedy and worthy of our sympathies but should not dictate policy.
One aspect of the traffic-stop ICE operation earlier this week I have not heard addressed and to which I do not have an answer is, were the stops legal? I know that a police officer is not supposed to pull you over without probable cause. Often people who were obviously drunk or guilty of other crimes, have beat the charges against them because they were stopped without probably cause. I know that law enforcement can sit up screening check points where every driver of every vehicle passing a certain point is screened for sobriety or driver's license or some other reason. That was not how these stops were conducted. Random vehicles were pulled over.
I know the attitude of a lot of people when it comes to searches of their home or surveillance or being required to show identification is, "I have nothing to hide, I don't care." My view is we should always be vigilant about government violation of our rights. The Fourth Amendment says, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." Maybe I am missing something but from what I learn from news reports of the ICE stops, people were stopped without probable cause. If one has more insight on the legality of the stops, I welcome hearing it.
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