How lawsuit claims THP violated the Constitution with ICE partnership

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:00]New tonight, a lawsuit filed against the Tennessee Highway Patrol over its partnering with ICE is now making its way through a Davidson County courtroom.

[00:00:09]The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition says the collaboration violates multiple constitutional amendments and falls outside the THP's power, but THP has maintained its actions are all within the law.

[00:00:24]>> No, back up. Back up. The Tennessee Highway Patrol teamed up with federal immigration agents last May, pulling over hundreds of drivers in South Nashville for minor infractions like a tail light out. If the driver didn't have valid identification, ICE agents, who were already on standby, quickly rolled up. ICE took 20 people into custody that first night, all minorities. Nearly 200 were arrested during the entire weekend. Senior Attorney Mike Holly for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition says the operation was hinged on racial profiling, which violates the 14th Amendment.

[00:01:04]>> This is clearly an effort to find and stop as many immigrants in one night as possible. They picked out the most immigrant-dense neighborhood in the entire state. They made a massive number of arrests that night. They had ICE vans waiting at the ready. Holly and Turk are now heading up a lawsuit filed this week against the Tennessee Highway Patrol asking the court to prohibit THP from joining forces with immigration agents. The lawsuit states that THP is engaging in septtergeuge or deception by using its traffic stop powers to serve ISIS immigration arrest objectives. This is illegal. The documents also site warrantless detention of drivers because of that alleged deception and a misuse of tax dollars, but supporters of the operation say this is just what voters and many Tennessans asked for.

[00:01:57]>> Law enforcement can't just turn a blind eye on that. We had that for four years, uh, you know, the past four years, and it has done tremendous damage to this country. THP has previously said it only operates within the law, pulling over drivers who'd already committed a violation. THP sent Fox 17 a statement saying it doesn't comment on pending litigation, but that it respects the constitutional rights of all individuals and expects all personnel to perform their duties in accordance with the law, department policy, and professional standards. And the lawsuit also cites ongoing THP and ICE operations in Memphis and one DUI checkpoint that happened in Robertson County that resulted in an immigration arrest. THP has noted that some of those arrests coming out of Nashville were for outstanding warrants, illegal guns, and drugs, including from suspected gang members.