10/21/2026
Hours before tonight’s council meeting about Data Center Moratorium and ICE/Unsafe Task Force occupation a judge restored the admittance of members of our community after they were banned by the council for practicing their rights - the people showed tonight to loudly share their voice and humanity. While, the Data Center Moratorium decision is ongoing as of this post - there was one example that some members of our city council have a backbone.
At its October 20 meeting, Memphis City Council passed a resolution calling for ICE and National Guard personnel to leave the city.
After more than a year of federal intervention, immigration arrests, and families living with the threat of separation, council members formally opposed their continued presence. Councilwoman Michalyn Easter-Thomas declared, “It’s time for them to leave.” Separately, Jeri Green warned against normalizing authoritarian politics, saying that treating government power as unquestionable risked making the country resemble “Nazi Germany.”
The resolution is nonbinding. It expresses the council’s opposition but does not require federal authorities to withdraw, so the federal operation can continue despite the city’s position. For the people who have been detained, the families searching for loved ones, and the communities living with fear, a declaration alone changes little. The city has made its position public.
This as people cast their votes for Tennessee’s governor, placing Marsha Blackburn’s record and political agenda in sharper contrast with Jeri Green’s warnings about authoritarianism and unchecked government power. Blackburn’s approach would likely favor stronger state support for immigration enforcement and closer cooperation with federal authorities, while Green’s comments point toward a broader critique of policies that expand government power without sufficient accountability. The contrast reflects a larger choice for Tennessee voters: whether the state should deepen its partnership with federal enforcement agencies or challenge policies that place immigrant communities and civil liberties at risk.
Sources: WREG News Channel 3, David Royer (October 20, 2026)
