DHS secretary praises local arrests, blames Nashville mayor for opposing ICE and vows more agents

Kristine Ulm, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, told reporters in Nashville that Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Tennessee and Kentucky have arrested people tied to international gangs and terror-designated groups and that the department will deploy more agents and resources to the region.

Ulm said the local office “oversees not just operations within Nashville, but also throughout Tennessee and Kentucky,” and highlighted recent arrests she described as tied to foreign terrorist organizations and gang networks. “We will bring more agents to Nashville. We will bring more resources to this state,” she said.

Ulm listed several arrests she said HSI Nashville had made: two Venezuelan nationals she tied to “Trond de Aragua” arrested in January on charges including promoting prostitution and evading arrest; a 35-year-old Venezuelan arrested in February on a homicide charge; a 33-year-old from El Salvador she identified as affiliated with MS-13 and the subject of an Interpol red notice; a 22-year-old Guatemalan charged with three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and identity theft; and a 60-year-old from Iraq with prior convictions including larceny and false imprisonment. Ulm also referenced the indictment of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whom she described as an MS-13 member and a human trafficker currently facing federal charges in Nashville. These characterizations and the counts named are Ulm’s summary of the local casework.

Ulm repeatedly framed the operations as protecting families and public safety. She said nearly “300,000 and more criminals and illegal aliens” have been arrested nationwide since President Trump took office and added that “70 percent of those individuals have criminal charges that they are convicted of or they have criminal charges that are pending against them.” She also said the administration had “removed over 600 known and suspected terrorists” and “brought thousands of gang members” to justice; those numbers were presented as Ulm’s statements about federal outcomes.

Ulm accused Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell of undermining federal enforcement, saying the mayor “has gone after our ICE individuals and agents” and has “openly doxed them, revealed their information to the public, encouraged people to work against them.” She told reporters the mayor had required city employees to document interactions with federal immigration authorities and said that, in her view, the mayor’s actions “are playing politics to a dangerous level that’s risking people's lives.” Ulm urged local officials to “partner with them instead of fighting them.”

She also criticized Belmont University for publicly offering to house migrants, calling that “obstruction against federal immigration law” during her remarks.

On a policy and operational outlook, Ulm said the agency will add personnel, training, equipment and investigative tools in response to criminal activity and to locations where local cooperation is lacking. She said DHS is seeking to speed case processing and to work with the Department of Justice to increase the number of immigration judges so cases move faster. When asked whether the department plans new detention facilities, Ulm said, “I don't think we necessarily will see more facilities,” and emphasized instead additional officers, training and tools.

Ulm asserted an “830% increase in violence” against ICE officers and their families; she attributed the rise to rhetoric by elected officials, “leftist organizations, and the media,” and urged reporters to interview ICE agents about their work. When asked about whether enforcement disproportionately affects Hispanic communities, she said operations are based on “casework and investigative reports” and called claims of targeting a “false narrative.”

Ulm described voluntary return incentives she said are part of agreements with some countries, including offering a plane ticket and “when you land, give you a thousand dollars” to help returning migrants resettle, and she said DHS negotiates security and extradition agreements with foreign governments to support removals.

The secretary opened the floor to questions and repeatedly framed the administration’s work as enforcing federal law and protecting public safety. She described the administration as “extremely transparent” about operations and said the government will release information “as we are allowed to by the law.”

The press event included multiple questioners whose names were not identified on the record. No formal votes, ordinances or local government actions were taken at the event; Ulm’s statements were presented as federal policy positions and operational plans.