In this afternoon's filing, Rodriguez's attorneys said the quiet part out loud — they believe she was targeted for being a journalist: “These facts indicate retaliation against Rodríguez in violation of the First Amendment."
NEW: Challenged to provide a warrant for journalist Estefany Rodriguez’s arrest on Friday, ICE provided a crumpled form missing key information. Judge Eli Richardson ordered show cause briefings.
nashvillebanner.com/2026/03/06/i...
No, @iamstevenhale.bsky.social did not ask me about chem trails this time, but he did ask and continues to cyber bully me about prediction markets on this podcast episode that is MAINLY about Tennessee immigration tracking bills.
nashvillebanner.com/2026/03/06/l...
Nashville Noticias staffer Estefany Rodríguez was detained by ICE in South Nashville on Wednesday morning. There was no warrant for her arrest. Her attorneys have filed an emergency petition in federal court seeking a writ of habeas corpus, or an immediate review of whether or not her detention is legal. Rodríguez, who was in the car with her husband — a U.S. citizen — has been following all the legal steps to citizenship. In her job, Rodríguez has reported several stories that hold ICE accountable, and it’s unclear whether her detention was retaliation. As of Thursday afternoon, she was in Alabama en route to an ICE processing center in Louisiana.
Something I don’t think can be emphasized enough is how fast ICE is shipping the people they detain off to another state. “Move fast and break things” but for people in potentially life or death situations. nashvillebanner.com/2026/03/05/j...
Reporters @iamstevenhale.bsky.social and @sarahgracetaylor.bsky.social talk about several immigration-related bills currently under debate at the Tennessee legislature.
🎧 Listen to the special episode of Banner & Company wherever you get your podcasts.
MNPD has completed a report with 19 recommendations for Nashville’s public schools, including forming a safety advisory committee, introducing license plate readers and expanding weapons scanners. MNPS said it will review and “determine which, if any, should be pursued.”
✍️ Lillian Avedian
A Nashville reporter who has reported on ICE was detained at a stop in South Nashville yesterday. Estefany Rodríguez fled Colombia after getting death threats and is awaitng an asylum hearing.
nashvillebanner.com/2026/03/05/j...
Retired Congressman Mark Green’s shrouded new business was allegedly poached from his partner’s client, according to a new lawsuit. Green and his partner are accused of using confidential information and political influence to intercept a fuel agreement in Guyana while Green was still in office.
Tennessee lawmakers moved forward with a bill tracking the immigration statuses of students on Wednesday, despite hundreds of protesters opposing the legislation. A second, harsher tracking bill written in tandem with the White House remains in limbo.
✍️ @sarahgracetaylor.bsky.social
Plus updates on East Bend/PSC scrapyard site, Buchanan Street overlay and Choose How You Move progress:
On Tuesday, the Nashville Metro Council voted 20-15 in favor of a nonbinding resolution criticizing Elon Musk’s The Boring Company for a “lack of transparency, inadequate community and Metropolitan Council engagement, and troubling labor and safety practices.”
✍️ @stelliott.bsky.social
Nashville travelers were in Mexico when the army killed one of the world's most wanted cartel leaders. How they navigated the chaos, and why experts say the violence may not be over.
✍️ Araceli Crescencio
Just an outstanding piece of journalism from @nashvillebanner.bsky.social podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is dead, and the U.S. and Israel are at war with Iran. The Banner spoke with local members of the Iranian diaspora about their experiences with the regime, their emotions and the future of Iran.
✒️: @mikeiereiland.bsky.social & Lillian Avedian
Tennessee lawmakers are dropping an effort to ban or charge tuition to undocumented students after a year of uncertainty around the controversial bill. An amended version would still require schools to report students’ immigration statuses.
📝: @sarahgracetaylor.bsky.social
At its meeting Tuesday night, the Metro Council will continue debating The Boring Company’s planned tunnel system, the response to the recent winter storm, redevelopment plans for the East Bank and business restrictions along Buchanan Street.
✍️ @stelliott.bsky.social
With @ejturner02.bsky.social on the people still living in and through the wreckage of last month's winter storm for @nashvillebanner.bsky.social: nashvillebanner.com/2026/03/02/n...
Nashville Public Library main downtown branch finally has a tentative reopening date (March 30) after nine months closed. From the @nashvillebanner.bsky.social:
BREAKING: Nashville Public Library's downtown branch, closed since a garage fire last June, will tentatively re-open on March 30, subject to approval by the fire marshall and codes.
nashvillebanner.com/2026/03/02/n...
TN homeland security commissioner re: @nashvillebanner.bsky.social and co. ICE/THP investigation:
“I don’t think it’s appropriate what happened. ... We don’t have control over other agencies, but we limited the amount of participation that we did after that. That’s the only operation we’ve done."
Gov. Bill Lee said “I don’t know” when asked about THP and ICE conduct in a Nashville raid last May, during which troopers and agents disparaged and “hunted” immigrants. Protesters, lawmakers and THP leadership also debated accountability on Thursday.
✍️ @sarahgracetaylor.bsky.social
Black Mental Health Village’s “Honoring Black History by Honoring Our Elders” event celebrated senior change-makers in Nashville and reminded the community that Black history is “local, living and still being written.”
✍️ @ejturner02.bsky.social
In an evidentiary hearing on Thursday, the government called two witnesses to prove that their prosecution of Kilmar Abrego García was not vindictive. The judge previously found some evidence of vindictiveness, and the defense is asking him to dismiss the case.
✍️ @mikeiereiland.bsky.social
Lt. Gov. Randy McNally announced on the Senate floor Thursday that he will not seek reelection, ending a nearly five-decade legislative career and kicking off a leadership race in the state Senate.
✍️ @stelliott.bsky.social
This investigation was a collaboration with
@motherjones.com, @nashvillebanner.bsky.social, News Channel 5, Nashville Noticias, and the Institute for Public Service Reporting - Memphis
You can find links to stories here + our methodology write-up:
www.lighthousereports.com/methodology/...
NEW: In an agreed order, the Attorney General’s Office said it will not enforce a law that would impose felony criminal liability on elected officials who vote for sanctuary policies. CM Clay Capp: "This is a huge victory for free speech and self-government”
nashvillebanner.com/2026/02/25/t...
Founded in 2020, 95 Counties has been uplifting the descendants of enslaved people by uncovering their ancestry and allowing them to name themselves in the context of American history.
✒️: @ejturner02.bsky.social
On Tuesday, East Bank Development Authority chair Emily Lamb stepped down from the role to assume the position of director of the Metro Codes Department in “several months.”
📝: @stelliott.bsky.social
NEW: A Tennessee bill that would seek the death penalty for so-called “prenatal homicide” likely stalled for the year as sponsor Sen. Mark Pody withdrew support.
nashvillebanner.com/2026/02/24/t...
