Illegal immigrant who killed Nashville restaurant owner to face ICE deportation after prison

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are seeking custody of a Mexican citizen who authorities say entered the United States illegally through Texas in 2021 under the Biden administration and killed a Nashville restaurant owner.

After pleading guilty and being sentenced Tuesday to decades behind bars, ICE lodged an immigration detainer against Ulises Raigoza-Martinez, requesting that Tennessee officials notify the agency before his release, so federal authorities can take him into custody for removal proceedings, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The case stems from a June 19, 2024, encounter in the parking lot of the Nashville restaurant Smokin' Thighs, where investigators claim Raigoza-Martinez stopped to steal tools from owner Matt Carney's pickup truck.

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When Carney, 42, walked outside to confront the thief, Raigoza-Martinez sped away, striking the restaurateur with his vehicle, authorities said. Carney landed on the hood before being thrown to the pavement when Raigoza-Martinez turned the vehicle.

Carney suffered critical injuries and died at a Nashville hospital on July 4, 2024.

Police arrested Raigoza-Martinez in South Nashville on July 18, 2024. Two years later, on July 22, 2026, he pleaded guilty to murder, theft over $10,000, tampering with evidence and theft over $2,500, before being sentenced to 20 years in prison.

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DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said Raigoza-Martinez "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," Bis said.

If Tennessee officials honor the ICE detainer, federal immigration authorities will take custody of Raigoza-Martinez after he completes his prison sentence so he can be placed into removal proceedings and deported.