Residents of the Nashville area were detained early Sunday morning by U.S. Immigration and Customs police agents who were apparently acting in the name of immigration police, officials said.

A press release from Nashville Democrat state Rep. Aftyn Behn said, “Witnesses reported multiple drivers pulled over and detained, including mothers driving to work and allegedly leaving their children in the cars by themselves.” There are videos, pictures, and first-hand accounts that show ICE and the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) working together to run what can only be called a “dragnet.”

On Sunday, a photographer for the Tennessee Lookout caught cars leaving a U.S. Department of Homeland Security building in Nashville. Family members of the people who were allegedly detained were also there to protest the claimed detentions.

In a statement, Mellissa Harper, Director of Enforcement and Removal Operations for the New Orleans Field Office, did not confirm the action in Nashville but did say, “Protecting the safety and security of our communities remains a top priority for ICE.” As part of our ongoing effort to enforce U.S. immigration rules, our targeted enforcement operations are aimed at people who pose a threat to national or public safety. These steps help keep our neighbourhoods safe and make sure that immigration rules are followed.

The head of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, Lisa Sherman Luna, said in a statement, “Arresting parents on their way home and workers on their way to work does not make Nashville safer or stronger.” “Instead, it breaks up families, lowers trust in the police, and causes fear, trauma, and isolation that weakens our community as a whole.”

“This is yet another cruel and unethical act of power abuse by ICE working with state police that will have a terrible effect on families all over Nashville and beyond,” Luna said.

In a social media post, Mayor Freddie O’Connell of Nashville said, “This kind of federal enforcement action is not meant to make us safer and makes people in our community afraid to talk to police when there is a crime going on.” We will look for the names of those who have been arrested.

The head of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, Lisa Sherman Luna, said in a statement, “Arresting parents on their way home and workers on their way to work does not make Nashville safer or stronger.” “Instead, it breaks up families, lowers trust in the police, and causes fear, trauma, and isolation that weakens our community as a whole.”

“This is yet another cruel and unethical act of power abuse by ICE working with state police that will have a terrible effect on families all over Nashville and beyond,” Luna said.

In a social media post, Mayor Freddie O’Connell of Nashville said, “This kind of federal enforcement action is not meant to make us safer and makes people in our community afraid to talk to police when there is a crime going on.” We will look for the names of those who have been arrested.

The arrest comes at a time when the federal government and states are trying to deport immigrants. The Tennessee General Assembly held a special session in January to pass sweeping immigration laws. These laws created a new state enforcement office to work with the Trump administration, gave grants to law enforcement agencies that agreed to join the federal 287(g) program, which lets local police and sheriff deputies enforce federal immigration laws, and made it illegal for public officials to vote for sanctuary city policies.

When he called for the special session, Gov. Bill Lee told the press that his goal was to “make sure our state is ready to assist President Trump in carrying out his immigration enforcement agenda.”

During the normal legislative session, a number of other bills aimed at immigrants were passed. A bill was passed that would make churches and other charitable groups responsible if they house immigrants without legal status who then commit a crime. Another bill, called “human smuggling,” makes it a crime to hide or house immigrants without lasting legal status.

A spokesperson for the Metro Nashville Police Department said that their department had nothing to do with the detention. However, they did send officers to the DHS facility to keep an eye on a public protest until highway patrol officers took over.