Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, is warning of potential legal violations tied to Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s recently announced “Belonging Fund” aimed to “support immigrants in Nashville during moments of crisis” amid federal immigration enforcement efforts.
Pappert, citing his exclusive interview with Metro Councilman David Benton, said the “Belonging Fund” may be illegally using federal relief dollars to support illegal aliens in violation of federal immigration law — specifically 18 U.S. Code § 1324, which prohibits harboring and encouraging unlawful entry and residence of illegal aliens.
“Councilman Benton wants state and federal audits of all of these nonprofits that are receiving federal money from Metro Nashville, specifically Biden’s pandemic stimulus money, and then turning around and helping to seed this Belonging Fund…David Benton says this is a big issue, and it’s bigger than Freddie O’Connell wants to admit. He says there are potential violations of 18 U.S. Code § 1324,” Pappert explained on Wednesday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
Councilman Benton, according to Pappert, believes Metro Nashville’s actions under the mayor’s orders may amount to harboring and encouraging illegal residence, both felony violations under federal law. Pappert also pointed out how Benton raised the possibility of money laundering and even federal racketeering (RICO) violations if it is found that Metro Nashville is using nonprofits as intermediaries to circumvent legal restrictions on aiding illegal aliens.
Noting how the “Belonging Fund” is being administered through a network of local nonprofits, Pappert stressed how it is funded in part by money Nashville received through the Biden administration’s 2021 American Rescue Plan.
“Where it gets interesting is this sort of transferring of money. First, it starts out with Congress, where Biden passes the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021…Nashville gets a cut of that – I think it was something like $140 million was the total amount they got – and of this, they’ve given about $3 million just to one of these nonprofits, the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition,” Pappert said.
“Well, David Benton says that this sounds a lot like money laundering. It sounds as though the Metro government is funneling this money around and moving it in order to help illegal immigrants without doing it themselves, which could introduce the elements required for a federal racketeering influence, corrupt organizations investigation,” he added.
Pappert went on to emphasize the seriousness of the claims, noting that Benton is actively seeking an audit by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General and has spoken to members of the Tennessee General Assembly regarding the matter.
“I think this is going to haunt the rest of [O’Connell’s] time as mayor, and unless he does something very performative like Eric Adams and says that he’s going to help the Trump administration do its job, I don’t think it’s going to go away,” Pappert said.
“It’s a monster of his own making,” he added.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Freddy O’Connell” by Freddie O’Connell, Mayor of Metropolitan Nashville & Davidson County.
