Download this document in PDF.
ICE is in our communities, but you are not alone. These resources will help you get connected to local help and protect your families and communities. Because Ohio is home and we’re glad you are here.
If you are in danger, please contact trusted sources or the authorities (if appropriate). The hotline should NOT be your first point of contact in life-threatening or other dangerous situations.
In this document: what hotlines are available for reporting ICE and other abuses of immigrants, and how they should be used; resources for documenting incidents in real time; social media posts to share; and other ways to engage.
Hotlines and ICE Incident Reporting in Ohio
Ohio Immigrant Hotline, operated by the Ohio Immigrant Alliance
Purpose: To share information about harmful incidents involving immigrants such as ICE arrests and raids, local police assistance in immigration enforcement, mistreatment of immigrants incarcerated for ICE, and hate crimes and bias incidents — whether by individuals or agencies. You can also use the hotline to request resources/guidance on policy matters, lawyer referrals, and get connected to local groups.
What It Is: A place where we can securely collect information in order to 1) address the immediate question or need; and 2) understand systemic problems. Our first priority is addressing the problem presented by the person reporting it. Our second priority is to understand what is happening at a systems level. This information is helpful to inform the need for lawsuits and other advocacy strategies, and identify capacity gaps that need to be filled.
What It Isn’t: We are collecting information about ICE sightings, but we are not immediately deploying people to verify activity in real time. If you want to engage in that work, please join your regional Signal chat (contact hotline@ohioimmigrant.org if you don’t know how to do this). After you report an incident to the regional Signal group or another trusted source, please also report the incident to the Ohio Immigrant Hotline. This is so we can keep track of everything we know about ICE activity and abuses of immigrants in Ohio. Again, this is not a rapid response hotline but it is an important part of documenting what is happening.
How It Works: Email hotline@ohioimmigrant.org or leave a voice mail at 419-777-HELP (4357). You can send or leave a message in any language. Your personal details will not be made public, or shared with anyone. Multilingual Hotline Managers respond to every call and message we receive within 24-48 hours (typically much earlier). Currently, we do not have live-answering capabilities. We are working toward this in the future.
If you are calling the hotline from inside ICE jail, please leave the contact information for a trusted person who is not incarcerated, if possible, so we can call them back. CALLS FROM OHIO JAILS MAY BE RECORDED AND/OR MONITORED.
How The Information Is Used: Hotline Managers will respond to your inquiry, providing resources if requested. We are also analyzing the data to identify gaps; for example, if there are a lot of people detained in a certain jail and there are no immigration lawyers operating near that facility, we will work to address that need. Or, if a certain police department appears to be participating in ICE arrests, we can inform local leaders about the need for advocacy with a certain department. Your contact information will not be shared with ANYONE. We may reach out to you and ask if you want us to share this information with a local leader or organization for a specific purpose, but will NEVER do that without receiving an affirmative response from you.
How To Get Involved: If you are interested in volunteering to support the hotline, please email hotline@ohioimmigrant.org with “Volunteer” in the subject line. We are not ready to accept volunteers as of this writing (2/4/2025), but we will be in the near future. We are seeking donations to fund the hotline operations and expand our capacity. Donate here.
Legal Aid Society of Cleveland operates an intake line for people who are detained in Geauga County Jail by ICE who need immigration legal representation
Legal Aid Society of Cleveland “Detained Immigrant Intake Line” can be reached at 216-861-5700. The Ohio Immigrant Alliance is not affiliated with this organization or hotline.
Best Practices in Documenting ICE and Police Abuse in Ohio
Never Again Action
For those of us who are allies, for example people with U.S. citizenship who are directly protected from the immigration system, we can hold our responsibility to stay aware and alert for our neighbors. What can we, as allies and people with citizenship, actually do if there is a suspected ICE attack in our communities? Find out here.
Also see this presentation for more information about documenting incidents and participating in deportation defense. Use the rubrics below for documenting incidents. Email photos, videos, and other information outlined below to hotline@ohioimmigrant.org.
Rubrics for Documenting Abuse
Find graphics to simplify the documentation process, using the SALUTE, ALERTA, and ACTUAR frameworks here. Thanks to the Central Ohio Announcements Signal chat for these resources.
Social Media Posts to Share
To promote the Ohio Immigrant Hotline, use the following resources.
Sample Post
Download graphic
SHARE WIDELY: Report ICE actions, racial profiling, hate/bias incidents — and request resources — by contacting the Ohio Immigrant Hotline. hotline@ohioimmigrant.org or 419-777-HELP (4357). #WeKeepUsSafe #ohioishome #ohiostandswithimmigrants https://ohioishome.org/report-abuses
Alt text: Bubble words that say “Keep Immigrant Communities Safe” in multiple colors appears on top of the words “report ICE abuses to the Ohio Immigrant Hotline” followed by the hotline number 419–777-HELP (4357) and hotline@ohioimmigrant.org.
Repost from the Ohio Immigrant Alliance
Instagram; Facebook; Bluesky; Threads; LinkedIn.
Other Ways to Show that #OhioIsHome
Sign this individual and organizational petition to our local elected officials.
Connect with local groups in your region.
Use and share the #OhioIsHome resource webpage.