Did you know ICE puts Ohioans in jail who haven’t even been charged with crimes?

You guessed right. It's about money for the jailers, not what's best for our communities.

The people we're talking about are Ohioans who have cases in immigration court, or who are eligible for deportation — a civil matter. Said Lynn Tramonte, Executive Director of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance, "Incarceration is an extreme action. It's separation from your family, your job, your home. The loss of liberty. It's isolating; it makes people sick; and it's terrifying. If it seems patently inhumane to put people navigating a civil process in a criminal jail, that's because it is."

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) puts some people in jails while they are battling civil immigration cases. “Four years ago, brave immigrants, community members, and lawyers pushed back and ended two ICE contracts with Ohio county jails. Unfortunately, some Ohio counties and the private prison company, CoreCivic, don't care about what's healthy for our communities. They just want to make money. If they have their way, ICE jail will increase 1000 percent across Ohio. But we know what to do. We've done this before. In fact, we still have a lawsuit pending against the Butler County Jail because of abuses during the first Trump administration," said Tramonte.

"We will continue to oppose ICE agents coming into our homes, businesses, schools, and houses of worship to kidnap our friends and loved ones. We will continue to educate everyone about their legal rights. We've started a hotline to receive abuse complaints. And we'll hold county officials accountable, because anyone who votes to participate in the deportation machine has put their communities in the cross-hairs. We won't forget, and they will find out. They are on the wrong side of history," she continued.

Watch this Ohio father talk about his time in ICE custody at the Butler County Jail.

Butler County Jail is a ticking time bomb.

ICE "detention" has nothing to do with criminal conduct, even though it takes place in a jail. Of course, you wouldn't know this from Butler County Sheriff Jones. As a sheriff, he already has the authority to detain people who commit crimes. He wanted his ICE contract back so he can detain Ohioans who just want to take care of their families — including the parents and spouses of U.S. citizens. Jones has a lawsuit still pending against him from the last time his jail held people for ICE. Physical assaults, racial abuse, denial of medical treatment to people with cancer — that's the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the sheriff's mistreatment of people in so-called "civil" detention.

Ohio Immigrant Alliance has already established a hotline to receive and act on abuse complaints. "By letting Sheriff Jones detain people for ICE, again, the Butler County Commissioners are being fiscally and morally reckless. When there are additional abuses of immigrants — and I do mean when, not if — we will be right back in court to add to the case," said Tramonte.

"ICE detention should not exist."

ICE does not need to detain people in order to deport them. Just ask Eulogio Hernandez Box. It does so in order to coerce people into giving up on their appeals.

During the first few weeks of the Trump administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents roamed Ohio neighborhoods and businesses — even lurking outside of schools — to abduct our family members and friends. But their actions were limited, because ICE jail in Ohio was limited — due to advocacy led by the Ohio Immigrant Alliance, our partners and, most importantly, brave immigrants.

That may soon change. And Ohio county officials who are taking on federal responsibilities have not actually weighed the pros and cons. If they had, they would realize there are hidden costs to participating in mass detention and deportation — from litigation expenses, to strains on Ohio businesses, communities, and families. They were warned, and it's not too late to listen.

In 2023, NPR reported the “Government’s own experts found ‘barbaric’ and ‘negligent’ conditions in ICE detention.” Ohio Immigrant Alliance Organizer Saidu Sow, who helped lead OHIA's work in county jails during the first Trump administration, said: “Finally, at least one government body has found that everything we were saying was true. They’re still missing some things; this is just the tip of the iceberg. There is no fixing this system. ICE detention should not exist.”

In one week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) jail capacity in Ohio could climb 983%.

During and immediately following the first Trump administration, brave immigrants who were incarcerated worked with lawyers and organizers to end ICE contracts at the Butler and Morrow County Jails. Together, we documented and spoke out against abuses; filed civil rights complaints and lawsuits; educated counties about the "hidden" costs of ICE detention; and made it clear that everyone in Ohio has human rights. From inside institutions that sought to deny them power, Ohio immigrants exercised agency and won liberation for themselves and others.

Ending these two ICE contracts, as well as the one at the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center (NEOCC), a CoreCivic jail in Youngstown, reduced ICE jail capacity in Ohio 90 percent—from a high of 596 “beds” per day at five jails, to a low of 59 “beds” at two facilities as of last year. As a result, deportations across the entire Detroit Field Office fell 63 percent.

Next week, ICE capacity may rise again. Ohio could go from having around 120 "beds" at two facilities (Geauga and Seneca County Jails), to approximately 1,300 "beds" at five facilities (Geauga, Seneca, Butler, NEOCC, and Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio). According to media reports, NEOCC has space for 784 people detained for ICE; Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio will take up to 96 individuals; and Butler County is making room for 300 people. Geauga County and Seneca County can each hold around 60 people for ICE, making the combined capacity across these five institutions 1,300. That would be nearly a 1000% increase, if allowed to happen.

Tramonte said, “We will continue to inform people of their rights when confronted by ICE. We will document abuses and hold jailers accountable. And we will continue to organize locally, because ripping people out of their jobs and homes is something Ohio officials will regret.”

There is a better way to manage immigration, so that people can remain at home with their loved ones.

Immigrants belong at home with their families, not in chains. U.S. Americans are grappling with the new reality under Trump: ICE raids in our communities; using the military to detain and deport immigrants; and even cancelling immigration legal programs to make more people undocumented. Now is a good time to talk about what we want the immigration system to be, instead.

Read this paper from Peter Markowitz about a system that makes logical sense and works the way most U.S. Americans think it already does. It involves simplified laws, paths to compliance, and recognition of the fact that immigrants are human beings.

For more about the problems with mass ICE detention, read about two people who were detained at the Butler County and Morrow County Jails, and watch this video. Learn about the lawsuit that remains pending against the Butler County Jail. Read about the legal, financial, and safety ramifications for counties in this ACLU of Ohio letter.

Spread the word about the Ohio Immigrant Hotline, a place where incarcerated immigrants and their loved ones can report abuses. Because every person in Ohio has rights, including people detained in so-called "civil" immigration jail.

"The Ohio Immigrant Alliance was created to connect immigrants who have made Ohio their home, and people who never had to make the choice to move," said Tramonte. "We all want the same thing — to live in a safe place, raise our families, and contribute to our communities. If you agree, sign the Ohio Stands With Immigrants petition and send a message to city, county, and state officials that Ohio is home."