Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell, facing questions over his handling of illegal immigration, thrust an advisory council of local liberal activists into a heated clash with federal and state officials. The move is drawing scrutiny from a Republican-controlled Congress, the Trump Justice Department, and Border Czar Tom Homan over immigration enforcement policies.
The council, dubbed the “Mayor’s Office on New and Indigenous Americans” (MONIA) is led by a city employee and now faces a possible investigation of whether it was obstructing federal immigration efforts, with Homan warning that interference will prompt prosecution and a multi-agency “flood the zone” response in Nashville.
Details about funding for MONIA remain elusive, with city financial documents suggesting its support is embedded within the $6.9M budget allocated to the Mayor’s office. Questions persist about why an office meant to serve “new and indigenous Americans” is deeply engaged in issues tied to illegal immigration (since they are neither Americans nor indigenous peoples), as well as the broader role and operations of this shadowy council.
They meet in the Mayor’s office. They have a dedicated leader – a full-time government employee – who serves on the mayor’s team. Yet getting concrete details about potential taxpayer support of this advisory group has proven difficult.
In reaction to federal and state immigration enforcement efforts inside the city of Nashville, Mayor Freddie O’Connell signed an Executive Order requiring those in city government to notify his office and MONIA within one day of learning of any federal/state immigration enforcement efforts planned in Davidson County.
Generally, details of law enforcement actions are not widely shared out of concern the targets of enforcement will flee, or in this case, out of concern that immigration activists might be tipped off.
Protesters and activists have, in fact, been present at several recent enforcement actions. It is not clear how they learned of ICE and THP efforts.
Border Czar Tom Homan has made it very clear interference of ICE efforts will not be tolerated.
“I’ve said from the very beginning you can decide not to cooperate with ICE, but if you get in our way, or cross that line, we will seek prosecution.”
Speaking to Fox News, Homan continued, “We’re gonna flood the zone in Nashville. Multi agency: FBI, DEA, ICE, US Marshals. If he [O’Connell] wants to push back and support sanctuary cities, that means we flood the zone … and he’s not gonna stop us.”
Currently 19 advisory council members who make up a liberal cross-section of social services and activist groups ranging from the Islamic Center of Nashville to Conexión Américas to Catholic Charities. They are led by Jacky Gonzales, who works in the Mayor’s Office. Apparently, she serves on Mayor O’Connell’s Community Engagement team, though an exact chain-of-command organization chart could not be found in city online records. She is mentioned only in passing in city budget documents.
State News Foundation sent Gonzales an email seeking details about her taxpayer-supported salary and MONIA funding. She referred our request to the City of Nashville Legal Department. State News Foundation filed a FOIA request for more information and will report any details that might emerge from that query.
According to the Mayor’s office, MONIA is an Advisory Council that aligns with his vision of “equity, inclusion and belonging.” MONIA’s webpage describes the Council as one which “works to engage and empower immigrants, refugees, indigenous peoples and Nashville newcomers.”
The name has morphed over time. Originally the idea of former Mayor Karl Dean in 2014, it was then more simply called the Mayor’s Office of New Americans (MONA). His vision for the Advisory Council was to make it “easier for immigrants to adapt to living in our community.” Mayor John Cooper initially attempted to downgrade MONA staffing in 2019, but reversed course because of blowback from various stakeholders.
Activists seeking to associate with MONIA projects are required to fill out a lengthy online application that requests unusually personal information, including details about religious affiliations and questions about voter registration.
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Brian Wilson is Managing Editor of State News Foundation.
