ICE Lodges Detainer for Illegal Alien Convicted of Killing Restaurant Owner in Nashville, Tennessee

After pleading guilty to murder, the illegal alien was sentenced to 20 years in prison

WASHINGTON - The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the following statement after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged a detainer asking officials in Tennessee to not release an illegal alien who was convicted of murder in the killing of a restaurant owner in Nashville.

According to local reporting, the incident occurred on June 19, 2024, in the parking lot of the restaurant Smokin' Thighs. The culprit, Ulises Raigoza-Martinez, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico, was driving through the parking lot when he stopped to steal tools from a pickup truck. The truck belonged to the restaurant's owner, 42-year-old Matt Carney. When Carney came out of the building to confront him, Raigoza-Martinez took off and struck Carney, who landed on the vehicle's hood. Carney was then thrown off the hood when Raigoza-Martinez made a turn. Carney died of his injuries at the hospital on July 4, 2024.

The victim: 42-year-old Matt Carney

On July 18, police in South Nashville arrested Raigoza-Martinez. Two years later, on July 22, 2026, Raigoza-Martinez pleaded guilty to the charges of murder, theft over $10,000, tampering with evidence, and theft over $2,500. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The suspect: Ulises Raigoza-Martinez

"This criminal illegal alien pleaded guilty to murder, theft, and tampering with evidence after he ran over and killed Matt Carney in Nashville, Tennessee," said Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. "This criminal illegal alien should NEVER have been in our country to commit this heinous murder. We will work with our state and local partners in Tennessee to ensure that he is handed over to ICE custody once his sentence is complete, so that we can remove him from our country."

Raigoza-Martinez claims to have illegally entered the United States through Texas in 2021 under the Biden Administration.

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