US immigration authorities arrested 121 people during a multi-agency raid at a Memphis nightclub, the Department of Homeland Security said.
The operation, led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), took place in the early hours of Sunday, August 30, at El Corralón on Macon Road. DHS announced the arrests on Tuesday, September 1, naming the operation “Corral Light”.
The agency said those detained were suspected of being unlawfully present in the United States and that some had criminal records. The offences listed included larceny, drug possession, domestic violence, driving under the influence, assault, child endangerment and prostitution.
Several agencies took part in the operation. Local reports said Tennessee authorities were executing a search warrant at the premises at the same time as ICE carried out immigration enforcement.
Witnesses told local media that customers and employees were restrained and taken away in buses and vans. Relatives and friends later gathered outside the club seeking information about those detained.
Immigration advocacy groups have questioned whether the search warrant authorised the detention of everyone inside the venue. They said some people with legal immigration status were later released after providing documents, with community volunteers helping collect individuals from facilities outside Memphis.
Gabby Salinas, a Democratic member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, called for details of the warrants used during the operation, including how many were issued and whom they covered.
Memphis mayor Paul Young said the city’s police department had not planned or carried out the federal operation, and had only responded when asked to assist with traffic and crowd control.
