Lydia Walther Rodriguez, chief of organizing and leadership development in Cassa Maryland, will speak at a press conference before the arrest and detention hearing of Kilmer Abrego Garcia in Nashville, Tennessee on June 13, 2025 (Photo: Cassandra Stevenson/Tennesse Seal Checkout)

The chant of “Todos Somos Kilmar” – “We’re All Kilmers” – suspended a gathering of immigrant, labor, faith and civil rights groups that gathered in downtown Nashville Church on Friday. Kilmar Abrego Garcia arrest.

Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old Salvador native who lives in Maryland, was deported to a Salvador prison under accusations of being a member of the MS-13 crime gang after a traffic stop in March.

His deportation acknowledged that Trump administration’s lawyers were wrong – became lightning to oppose the administration’s immigration policy.

“Let’s be clear. They continue to call this an administrative error, so they’re fighting, but there’s nothing to do with destroying their families. This is not a mistake.”

“This is a deliberate attack on black and brown communities, not just in Maryland, but throughout this country. They continue to fight to erase us, and we have to stand up and continue to resist,” she said.

Abrego Garcia came to the United States illegally as a teenager. The 2019 immigration court order banned the government from sending him back to El Salvador, where he said he was afraid of persecution.

The Salvadoran government returned Abrego Garcia to the United States in June and faced human smuggling charges issued in late May in the indictment of a major ju trial. The charges stem from a 2022 incident when the Tennessee Highway Patrol pulled Abrego Garcia’s SUV (with nine Hispanic men inside) for speeding.

He pleaded not guilty to his arrest in Nashville Federal Court on Friday.

Groups of organizations that met on the first Lutheran Church’s stairs also included Tennessee Immigrants and Refugees Rights Union (TIRRC), SEIU Local 205, Nashville Central Labor Council, Middle Tennessee, and the Equity Alliance.

Vonda McDaniel, chairman of the Nashville Central Labor Council and the Tennessee Central Labor Council, called for fair treatment to Abrego Garcia, saying his case “will not disappear in the shadow of the courtroom.” She also questioned the validity of the charges against him, which was filed after his deportation.

“This is a clear attempt to retrospectively criminalize Kilmer to justify what they have done illegally to him and to threaten other immigrants (and) who may try to fight back when their rights are violated… Today, we are standing before you to demand justice, not in vengeance,” McDaniel said.

Speaker: Nashville’s confusion reflects a wider pattern

Lisa Sherman Luna, executive director of TIRRC, spoke about the recent actions of the Tennessee Legislature. Established the immigration enforcement department In other words Exemption from public records And it was created Criminal punishment For local elected officials “adopting sanctuary policies.” Another law created a new crime Hugging or hiding immigrants Without the status of legal immigration, “for purposes… of private financial interests.”

“What happened to Kilmer Garcia is a horrifying example of what will happen to any of us, because that happens when the powerful people go beyond the law, when court orders are ignored, people disappear, and when legitimate processes are erased,” she said. “Now, immigration is being used as pawns in a wider attack on our democracy.”

Sherman Luna said Nashville has been under “full attacks” especially since May detained around 200 people from the city’s most diverse areas, most of which have no criminal history.

US “Border Czar” Tom Homan, US Congressman Andy Ogles, Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton And Trump administration officials have accused Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell of condemning immigration detention sweep.

“There’s an impact,” Homeland Security Officer targets Nashville Mayor over immigration

After being detained, O’Connell revised the 2019 executive order. This required some city employees to report interactions with federal immigration staff to the mayor’s office, reducing the original three-day time frame to 24 hours. According to the O’Connell administration, the mayor’s office has posted records of these reports. The post was later deleted.

Tennessee’s GOP leader accused O’Connell of putting immigration officers at risk and obstructing immigration enforcement.

O’Connell Now Faced with investigation by the US Congressional Committeeand Tennessee Republican state legislators have Proposed law It would make it a felony for a civil servant to release the name of an immigrant officer. The bill also removes state and local officials from their duties.

“They have criminalised the ability of local elected officials to protect immigrant residents, and now they are even trying to make it a crime to even reveal the names of ice officers. “This is something that they do when they know that the government is acting outside of the law.

Terry Vo, a member of Metronashville Council, District 17, who chairs the Immigration Caucus, said the state legislature has “already stripped us of our right to care for our people, from banning sanctuary policies to blocking the protection of workers and preventing the protection of workers.”

Cities across Tennessee and across the country “cannot follow in advance,” she said.

“Please don’t forget that the freedom we enjoy now was not talented,” Vo said. “They were fought. They were sacrificed.”

Tequila Johnson, co-founder and vice president of Equity Alliance, said it was the same system as “confining the black body” and “deporting immigrant families.”

“We will continue to fight to our ancestors… those who have died, those who fought for these rights,” Johnson said. “Just because hatred isn’t knocking on your door now doesn’t mean it’s not on your street.”

Anita Wadwani I contributed.