NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — A lawsuit filed this week against the Tennessee Highway Patrol over its partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is now making its way through a Davidson County court.The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition says the collaboration violates multiple constitutional amendments and falls outside THP’s authority.But THP has maintained its actions are within the law.A lawsuit against the Tennessee Highway Patrol over its partnership with ICE claims the collaboration violates multiple constitutional amendments.The Tennessee Highway Patrol teamed up with federal immigration agents last May, pulling over hundreds of drivers in South Nashville for minor infractions, like a broken tail light.If drivers did not have valid identification, ICE agents, who were standing by, moved in.ICE took 20 people into custody the first night, all minorities. Nearly 200 people were arrested during the entire weekend.Senior attorney Mike Holley with the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition said the operation was based on racial profiling, which he says violates the 14th Amendment, in a previous interview on the issue with FOX17.“It was clearly an effort to find and stop as many immigrants in one night as possible. They picked out the most immigrant-dense neighborhood in the entire state. They made a massive number of arrests that night. They had ICE vans waiting at the ready.”Holley and TIRRC are now leading a lawsuit against the Tennessee Highway Patrol, asking the court to prohibit THP from partnering with immigration agents.The lawsuit states THP is “engaging in subterfuge... by using its traffic stop powers to serve ICE’s immigration arrest objectives. This... is illegal.”The lawsuit also alleges the warrantless detention of drivers because of that alleged deception, along with a misuse of taxpayer dollars.A lawsuit against the Tennessee Highway Patrol over its partnership with ICE claims the collaboration violates multiple constitutional amendments.The complaint also cites ongoing THP and ICE operations in Memphis, along with a DUI checkpoint in Robertson County that resulted in an immigration arrest.But supporters of the operation say it reflects what many Tennessee voters asked for, particularly in the 2024 presidential election.“Law enforcement can’t just turn a blind eye to that. We had that for four years, the past four years, and it has done tremendous damage to this country,” said Chris Todd, R-Madison County, in a previous interview with FOX 17 about the operation. THP has previously said it only pulls over drivers who have committed traffic violations.THP sent FOX 17 a statement saying it does not comment on pending litigation, but wrote that the agency “respects the constitutional rights of all individuals and expects all personnel to perform their duties in accordance with the law, department policy, and professional standards.”THP has also noted previously that some of the arrests connected to the Nashville operation involved outstanding warrants, illegal guns and drugs, including suspected gang members.