Why Did an ICE Agent Open Fire in an Immigrant Neighborhood?

Sep 7, 2019
4:44 PM
Originally published at Audioboom

On Thursday, an U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) opened fire in the parking lot of grocery story located in one of Nashville’s immigrant neighborhoods, injuring a man who had reportedly refused to show the agent his identification. Local reports say the man is 39 years old and from Veracruz, Mexico. Why did this happen? For this latest episode of Latino Rebels Radio, we talk with Brenda Pérez of The Mix Nashville to discuss the latest. The Mix is a grassroots organization that focuses on community organizing and immigration rights. On Thursday night, The Mix released a statement about the shooting.

Buzzfeed News reported about what ICE spokesperson Bryan Cox is saying: “Cox said the undocumented man was previously convicted of domestic assault and aggravated child abuse. Davidson County court records show a conviction for domestic assault, but a separate charge of aggravated child abuse was dropped at the request of prosecutors. Asked to clarify, Cox said he had additional criminality but declined to go into details citing privacy rules.”

Featured image: Law enforcement officers investigate the scene where shots were fired involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the parking lot of a Food Lion store on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019, in the Antioch neighborhood of Nashville, Tenn. (Shelley Mays/The Tennessean via AP)

UPDATE, September 9: Local Nashville media is reporting that one of the ICE agents who was at the scene of the shooting “had been named in at least two settled federal lawsuits.”