Nearly 3,000 illegal immigrants were arrested in Tennessee for crimes ranging from murder to rape during the last three months of 2024, according to a report compiled by the state’s district attorneys.
The report released last week by the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference found that around 2,719 illegal immigrants from over 92 different countries were arrested from October to December 2024. Sent to GOP Governor Bill Lee and House Speaker Cameron Sexton, the report sheds light on how the border crisis has led to increased crime in the Volunteer State.
Compiled as a result of a new state law requiring law enforcement to report on the arrests of illegal immigrants, the report found that 447 of the estimated total 3,854 charges were violent offenses. The data only included 73 counties since the other 22 did not submit their statistics.
There were a total of 11 homicides reported across the state, including three cases of first degree murder, one case of second degree murder, and seven instances of vehicular homicide.
Other violent offenses reported include rape of a child (3), aggravated rape (6), continuous sexual abuse of a child (2), aggravated kidnapping (3), especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor (1), statutory rape (9), aggravated sexual battery (6), aggravated robbery (6), aggravated domestic assault (27), sexual exploitation of a minor (8), robbery (2), and assault on a law enforcement officer (4).
The most common offenses illegal immigrants were arrested on were driving under the influence (654), driving without a license 549, traffic violations (533), domestic assault (154), public intoxication (147), failure to appear (150), probation violation (91), open container (83), and aggravated assault (80).
TN District Attorneys report.
Results of the charges were reported as a mixed bag with 136 cases still open, 37 dropped by prosecutors, 85 cases dismissed, 128 found guilty, and 198 with no record indicating the outcome.
Most of the arrests were made in the cities of Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga, and the counties surrounding those cities. Surprisingly, Shelby County, home to Memphis, reported just 59 arrests of illegal immigrants.
The greatest number of illegal immigrants came from Mexico (892), though a significant number came from Guatemala (564), Honduras (332), Venezuela (130), and El Salvador (86).
Over the past few years, illegal immigrants have been arrested in Tennessee for a number of high-profile crimes, including the murder of popular Nashville restaurant owner Matt Carney. Carney died from injuries after police say an illegal immigrant struck him with his truck in the parking lot of his restaurant. Carney’s death drew the attention of then-candidate Donald Trump, who has warned of an illegal immigrant crime wave stemming from lax border policies implemented by the Biden administration.
Last week, Tennessee passed sweeping legislation during a special session intended to help carry out Trump’s mass deportation plans.
