Taking a moment here to reflect upon the work that Ohio immigrants, their loved ones, and allies have done to decarcerate our state.
Between 2018 and 2022, immigrants detained by ICE in Ohio jails bravely spoke out about inhumane and abusive treatment, using the Ohio Immigrant Alliance (OHIA) and other groups as their conduits. We filed complaints with DHS Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and submitted testimony to the U.S. Congress and U.S. Commission on Civl Rights. Working with the ACLU of Ohio and other pro bono and private lawyers, we filed lawsuits that forced the release of dozens of immigrants and earned a settlement for one man in a medical neglect case, with the major Butler County abuse case still pending.
Through this effort, ICE jail capacity in Ohio fell 90%—from a high of 596 “beds” per day at five jails, to a low of 59 “beds” at two facilities today. As a result, deportations across the entire Detroit Field Office area of responsibility fell by 63%.
Read more about this brave, challenging, and triumphant work here.
Unfortunately, jailers refuse to let their jails die. After Morrow County Sheriff John Hinton was exposed for failing to protect human lives, he lost his ICE cash cow. Since Morrow is one of the least-populated counties in Ohio, Hinton found new ways to justify his jail’s existence by turning on his own community.
Take a look at the Morrow County Jail roster today, and you’ll see a large number of people spending serious time in an ill-equipped county jail because they have drug problems, or violated probation—including more women. Do the people incarcerated for drug addictions and probation violations need to be in jail, or in an environment where they can recover from addiction, obtain job skills, and contribute to their communities? What is better for them, us, and local taxpayers?
It’s really no contest. But our country’s addiction to incarceration keeps us from asking these rational questions. Read more here.