Immigration sweeps are picking up steam in states across the South, often with the help of state and local agencies. In this week's roundup, we look at an unprecedented enforcement action in Florida called Operation Tidal Wave, which led to the arrest of more than 1,000 immigrants, along with operations in Tennessee and along the Interstate 10 corridor through Louisiana and Mississippi.
The conversation this week is with union leader Vonda McDaniel, president of the Central Labor Council of Nashville and Middle Tennessee. She talks about the connections between labor rights and all civil rights, the importance of the Black church in social justice work, and why football Sundays are the most union days of all. Plus: an appreciation of Percival Everett, whose book James won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction last week.
SHOW NOTES
List of ICE 287(g) contracts
Florida:
ICE press release, 5/1/25
Florida Immigrant Coalition
Tennessee:
Photographs from outside ICE facility, Madison Thorn
Tennessee Republicans Back South Nashville ICE Roundup, Tennessee Lookout
I-10 Corridor:
CBP press release, 5/5/25
Know Your Rights: 100-Mile Border Zone, ACLU
Percival Everett:
Pulitzer Prize 2025
"The Appropriation of Cultures" Percival Everett
CONTACT:
Jesse Mayshark jmayshark@theprogressivesouth.org
(865) 214-7764
