Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) ignited controversy over the weekend after claiming that ICE is “abducting” illegal immigrants and sending them to “dungeons in foreign countries” during a town hall in Tennessee. Speaking to a crowd of several hundred at Cane Ridge High School near Nashville, Omar denounced President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement policies and pushed for sweeping left-wing reforms, including banning ICE agents from wearing masks and cutting military spending.
“The reality is when they come for one of us, they’re eventually going to come for all of us,” Omar said. “We’re seeing people be abducted and sent to dungeons in foreign countries and people disappearing with no accounting for where they’ve gone.”
The town hall, billed as a rally against the Trump administration and local Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN), featured signs reading “ICE NOT PERMITTED ON THE PREMISES” posted on the school doors and fliers declaring “Nashville stands with Ilhan.” Omar took aim at ICE agents, referring to their enforcement actions as “shocking” and “un-American,” and claimed that people around the world are horrified by videos of immigration arrests.
NEW: Covering far Left Democrat Rep Ilhan Omar’s townhall at a public high school outside of Nashville. ICE is not welcome, according to the organizers. pic.twitter.com/d9r9wofoE5
— Leif Le Mahieu (@leif_lemahieu) July 12, 2025
“When they see these kinds of images coming out of America, to them it is really shocking — and it should be to all of us as Americans,” she said.
Omar also slammed Trump’s signature tax and spending bill, calling it the “big ugly bill” for including increased ICE funding and support for immigration enforcement facilities. She falsely implied that ICE operations are conducted without oversight or legal basis, despite recent ICE statistics showing that a majority of those arrested during operations in Tennessee had criminal records or were repeat immigration offenders.
In the early May raids referenced by Omar and Democrat state Rep. Justin Jones — who compared ICE to the KKK — 196 illegal aliens were arrested. Of those, 95 had criminal convictions or pending charges, including rape and drug trafficking, and 31 had already been deported and re-entered the country illegally.
Despite these facts, Omar and her supporters focused on portraying ICE as a rogue agency. Joy Guss, a Metro Nashville Public Schools employee, accused ICE of “terrorizing our children” and claimed Latino student attendance had dropped. Another attendee, a woman from California, said she was “distraught” over ICE workplace enforcement and backed efforts to end such operations.
Ogles, a strong Trump ally who won reelection in 2024 with nearly 60% of the vote, represents a conservative district that includes suburban and rural areas outside of Nashville. His supporters point to his tough stance on illegal immigration as a reason for his popularity.
While Omar’s remarks drew cheers from progressive activists in attendance, critics accused her of spreading misinformation and downplaying the criminal backgrounds of many of those targeted in ICE operations. The Trump administration has continued to defend the agency’s work, citing record-high deportations of criminals and the need to restore law and order to America’s immigration system.