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By J. Holly McCall | Editor-in-Chief

Good morning and TGIF, Lookout readers:

A state and federal task force that’s been operating in Memphis for almost a year. Four men shot and killed by task force agents in a two-month period. The establishment of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement 24-hour call center in Nashville. A slate of legislative measures targeting immigrants.

State and national immigration advocates cited these and other measures Thursday as they told media outlets Tennessee is becoming “a national hub for the mass deportation machine.”

The conference call came after federal agents detained more than 120 immigrants at a Memphis nightclub early Sunday, only five of whom apparently had any criminal record.

In other news:

  • Tennessee racks up dubious accolades. A report from OxFam, an organization that fights poverty, released its annual “Best States To Work in the US” scorecard and Tennessee comes in at 49th. Not to be outdone, WalletHub ranked the Volunteer State 40th on its list of best places to live based on factors including quality of life, education and health and affordability.

  • Poll watch: A poll released Thursday by the Beacon Center of Tennessee, a right-of-center think tank, shows U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, the Republican gubernatorial nominee with a 21-percentage point lead over Democratic nominee, Memphis Councilmember Jerri Green.

  • Even more interestingly, the Beacon Poll found President Donald Trump underwater in Tennessee for possibly the first time since he came on the national scene in 2015: Only 48% of those surveyed approve of the job Trump is doing, with 51% expressing disapproval.

  • Truth is stranger than fiction. Toby Sells with the Memphis Flyer reports a Nashville-area group, Tennessee Coalition for UAP Perspectives, seeks to examine unexplained anomalous phenomenon, UAP, formerly known as unidentified flying objects, UFOs.

THE LOOKOUT’S TOP STORY

Members of the Tennessee National Guard on Nov. 21, 2025, patrol Memphis as part of the Memphis Safe Task Force. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)

Immigrant advocates highlight Tennessee role in Trump administration’s mass deportation plans

by Anita Wadhwani

On Thursday, officials with the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition joined national immigration advocates during a press conference to discuss the Memphis raid and other recent events in Tennessee that, they said, highlight the state’s increasingly pivotal role in the Trump administration immigration enforcement and deportation agenda.

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NEWS AND NOTES
FEATURED IN THE LOOKOUT

After more than three decades in the legislature, Rep. Joe Towns of Memphis, photographed on May 7, 2026, has stepped down to serve as Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)

by Sam Stockard

Thirty-two years after entering the Tennessee House, Memphis Democratic Rep. Joe Towns said farewell, resigning his District 84 post following his victory in the Criminal Court Clerk’s race in Memphis. Plus: Is Senator Kane in the works?

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FEATURED IN THE LOOKOUT

Kilgore Flares Company filed a notice informing the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development that the company intends to lay off 127 employees by October 31, 2026. (Photo: Cassandra Stephenson/Tennessee Lookout)

by Cassandra Stephenson

Kilgore Flares Company, a defense contractor, will lay off 127 workers at its Hardeman County manufacturing plant by the end of October, according to a notice filed with Tennessee’s department of labor Wednesday.

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