This story was originally published by the Nashville Banner. Sign up for their newsletter at nashvillebanner.com/newsletters.
The federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency on Tuesday trumpeted the results of the recent operation that incited outrage, panic and confusion around Nashville.
The agency, which worked alongside the Tennessee Highway Patrol to stop and question upwards of 500 drivers last week, revealed the most information to date about the operation, but left many unanswered questions about how it was carried out and who was swept up in it. Reports of continued ICE activity have also surfaced this week.
While ICE had already been taking increased numbers of undocumented immigrants into custody from the Nashville jail, an escalation came overnight May 3 into the next morning. Highway Patrol troopers stopped around 150 drivers over the course of several hours, handing over dozens to ICE agents waiting nearby. ICE activity continued through last weekend as Metro officials and Nashville residents expressed heartbreak and alarm about the detentions.
(READ MORE: Hamilton County law enforcement turning more and more people over to ICE)