Alejandro Ramirez

1 week ago | nashvillescene.com | Alejandro Ramirez |Alejandro Ramírez

Nashville immigrants were terrified to leave home during the weeklong joint operation carried out by federal immigration enforcement and Tennessee state troopers in early May. ICE and the Tennessee Highway Patrol detained almost 200 drivers, most of whom had no criminal history. Even Broadway bars were affected — including those owned by staunch conservative Steve Smith — as employees stayed in place to avoid a raid.

2 weeks ago | nashvillescene.com | Alejandro Ramirez |Alejandro Ramírez

In an Instagram post Friday afternoon, the owners of Subculture Urban Cuisine and Cafe announced that the Nolensville Pike restaurant will close at the end of the month. Over the course of nine years, the restaurant earned many accolades — including the Scene’s own Best of Nashville awards — for its churrasco sandwich and vegetarian hot chicken substitute. The last week of operation lasts from Tuesday, May 27, to Saturday, May 31, according to the Instagram caption.

Mar 6, 2025 | nashvillescene.com | Alejandro Ramirez |Alejandro Ramírez

Sometimes great ideas are born from a desire to prove someone else wrong. That’s a cheeky and reductive — but not not accurate — way to describe how Karina Daza formed Musicana, a collective of Latin American musicians in Nashville. Daza says she was inspired to form Musicana in 2023 after struggling to book gigs with venues in town, even places she had already played at as an opener, and was told each time that Latin music just doesn’t sell. “It lit a fire in me,” says Daza.

Feb 27, 2025 | nashvillescene.com | Alejandro Ramirez |Alejandro Ramírez

Carmen was nervous when she arrived in the United States in December 1999, leaving her home country El Salvador behind. She acquired temporary protected status, or TPS, in 2001, and after more than 20 years of — in her own words — surviving and working hard every day, she now owns a small business and provides for her family. And she says TPS, a temporary status given to people from certain countries fleeing dangers like civil war and earthquakes, helped make it all possible.

Jan 22, 2025 | nashvillescene.com | Alejandro Ramirez |Alejandro Ramírez

As Donald Trump returns to the presidency, many immigrants and immigration advocates are bracing for his promised mass deportations and border crackdowns. One uncertainty is how Trump will handle a policy he once attempted to end: Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. Barack Obama established DACA in 2012 by executive order, granting young undocumented immigrants the chance to apply for driver’s licenses, pursue jobs, seek higher education and more without fear of deportation.