It’s no surprise the pro-Trump, police-state apologists at WSYX (ABC Channel 6 news) have infiltrated the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office. Running the Sheriff office’s media relations office is former WSYX reporter Maria Durant who refuses to answer whether Sheriff Baldwin is reviewing or making changes to Procedure No. 802:1.8.
If you’re not in the know, Procedure No. 802:1.8 is the Sheriff office’s “ICE Notification” protocol. Or as the Ohio Immigrant Alliance refers to it, “One of the broadest ICE cooperation policies in the country.”
This is from a recent Dispatch article: “Jail staff notifies ICE for a list of reasons. This includes when the detainee speaks little English, does not have a government-issued identification, requires consular notification or simply was born outside of the U.S.”
“Despite the City of Columbus declaring itself welcoming to immigrants, Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin is going above and beyond what is required in federal law, and feeding the names of people who may be U.S. citizens or legal residents to ICE,” wrote Ohio Immigrant Alliance’s Lynn Tramonte in the recently published report, Ending Immigration Jail in Ohio.
Soon after the Dispatch story ran, Sheriff Baldwin publicly stated, “We intend to review our policy with the appropriate legal review by the prosecutor’s office.”
Columbus police were ordered not to cooperate with ICE by Mayor Ginther back in 2017. Whether all Columbus police officers are “standing down” is a good question, but you can bet the over that both Columbus police and Franklin County deputies are calling the ICE “snitch line” in their downtime.
Nevertheless, we now know for a fact that Franklin County deputies have been working with ICE since 2022 when Procedure No. 802:1.8 was implemented.
We recently asked Maria Durant multiple times through email whether a review of Procedure No. 802:1.8 was initiated as Sheriff Baldwin stated he would do. Nothing but crickets was her (un)response.
This is a telltale sign of the new ICE. Less of a bumbling messy invasion and more low profile and more stealth – if such a word could be used to describe these untrained Brownshirts.
“Since Operation Buckeye, while arrests may be statistically down, there is still a huge federal agent presence here,” said a source closely connected to a local ‘ICE watch’ effort, but will remain unnamed. “Basically, ICE is 100 percent still terrorizing our communities without making much noise. They are fast and quiet. Oftentimes, all that is left at a scene when we respond is an empty abandoned car of someone who just got abducted.”
During Operation Buckeye there were lots of cars surrounding one car or person and that person was swept up.
“We are still seeing that, just with less cars and agents,” said our source. “They are still making warrantless arrests without reasonable articulable suspicion of a crime. They will hide on roadsides, apartment complexes and immigrant businesses and take someone that way.”
A recent incident in Westerville – where the police also are under strict orders to not assist ICE – underscores how local immigrants fear anyone in uniform.
“A man escaped from St. Anne’s [hospital] that was in ICE custody, and Westerville PD started searching with ICE until WVPD realized he was not a criminal – only in trouble for civil offense, not criminal – and Westerville police suspended the search because they won’t work with ICE unless there is a criminal history investigation,” said the source.
Fearing anyone in uniform means our immigrant community is refusing to ask law enforcement for help, such as during a domestic dispute. But Procedure No. 802:1.8 can, so to speak, also be “weaponized.”
“With its 2022-enacted policy, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office is handing abusers a tool to control their victims,” said Tramonte. “If a victim of crime was born in another country and threatens to tell the police, the abuser can threaten to call the Sheriff’s Office on them, so the Sheriff will report them to ICE.”
Speaking little or no English is not illegal in this country, nor is it evidence that someone is deportable. Not having a government ID is also not against the law, or evidence of immigration status.
“We do not live in a country that requires you to carry your ‘papers’ on you every time you leave the house. And many people born in the U.S. do not have government-issued IDs,” said Tramonte.
Reporting every person who was born outside of the United States to ICE means Sheriff Baldwin is calling them about naturalized U.S. citizens.
“That is an egregious overreach that says people born in other countries are ‘perpetually foreign,’ even after they have pledged allegiance to the United States,” said Tramonte. “Even people who are naturalized citizens, or have legal status in the United States, fear contact with law enforcement because of ICE’s overly broad deportation policies and reputation for making mistakes. Franklin County should be taking steps to reassure the public and align with Columbus’ pro-immigrant posture, not calling ICE as often as possible.
“The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office must repeal Procedure No. 802:1.8. It’s impossible for Columbus to be a great place for immigrants to raise their families, with this policy in place. Immigrants have been vital to Columbus’ strength and vitality. The Sheriff’s Office is betraying their contributions and trust.”
The Ohio Immigrant Alliance would like all supporters to know that between May 23 and May 30, Ohioans are holding a week of prayer and action outside of every single ICE detention center in Ohio. They are saying we don’t want our tax dollars used to cage people who belong at home, with their families. They want Congress to do their jobs and fix our immigration laws, instead.
The vigils start on May 23 outside the Seneca County Jail, and moves 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.