Chris Quinn of the Cleveland Plain Dealer said, "What a fascinating report about ICE detainees in Ohio, that completely flies in the face of what president Donald Trump said his immigration policy is about." He was talking about Ohio Immigrant Alliance's new detention data report, which found only 5% of the nearly 8,000 people locked up in Ohio immigration jails during the first 15 months of Trump's second term had been convicted of violent crimes.
Said Laura Johnston, "They just want to hold people, lock them up. Get rid of them. And there’s this civil immigration lawsuit now against Butler County, that a jail sergeant punched a immigrant so hard he vomited blood."
Why are we detaining immigrants in jails? They aren't being charged with crimes. They are being accused of civil violations. The few that are charged with crimes related to their manner of entry are taken to federal prisons, not the six jails with ICE detention contracts. Depriving someone of their liberty is an extreme response to a civil paperwork violation. We don't do this in tax, housing, or environmental law. Why is immigration law different?
Not only does detention take immigrants away from their jobs, homes, loved ones, and lawyers, making it harder for them to present their cases in court, it exposes them to abuses like the assault Luis Tenelanda experienced last year. His isn't the first lawsuit immigrants filed against the Butler County Jail, and it won't be the last — unless the ICE contract ends.
Between May 23 and May 30, Ohioans are holding a week of prayer and action outside of every single ICE detention center in Ohio. We are saying we don't want our tax dollars used to cage people who belong at home, with their families. We want Congress to do their jobs and fix our immigration laws, instead.
The vigils start on May 23 outside the Seneca County Jail, and move on to the Mahoning and Geagua County Jails on May 28. They crescendo on May 30, with three vigils at NEOCC, Butler County Jail, and CCNO. Get all the details here, and hit as many as you can. See you there!
We are also urging community members to call Butler County Commissioners Rogers, Carpenter, and Dixon between 8am-5pm, Monday-Friday, at 513-887-3000, and tell them to END THE ICE CONTRACT.