We have two big announcements at the Ohio Immigrant Alliance! First, we are suing the Butler County Jail, for a second time.

Second, we just released “Ohio Immigration and Customs Enforcement Activity Report (January 2025 - March 2026),” the only statewide analysis of immigration detention in Ohio during the first fifteen months of the second Trump administration.

We found that nearly 8,000 people were detained for ICE in Ohio between January 2025 and March 2026. Fewer than 5 percent had been convicted of a violent offense.

A second lawsuit has been filed on behalf of immigrants detained for ICE at the Butler County Jail. Here is everything you need to cover this case.

The Ohio Immigrant Alliance released the first and only statewide analysis of immigration detention in Ohio during the first fifteen months of the second Trump administration. 

According to “Ohio Immigration and Customs Enforcement Activity Report (January 2025 - March 2026),” ICE detention capacity in Ohio soared more than 1,000 percent during the first months of President Trump's second term. The number of ICE contracted jails in Ohio grew from two at the end of 2024 to six by the end of 2025. The statewide average daily detained population rose from 117 in 2024 to roughly 656 in 2025.

People have always moved for safety and opportunity, since the beginning of time. Ohio is home to people born in many different countries. This playlist is a companion to "Ohio Is My Second Country," a coloring book by Ohio Immigrant Alliance and artist Shema Asifiwe. It includes songs from all of the featured countries, as well as bonus ones.

Listen to this playlist while you color scenes from the book. Find out where to buy it, and download free coloring pages, at ohioimmigrant.org/second-country.

On April 25, community leaders, advocates, and faith-based organizers gathered at the Spring Assembly in Columbus, Ohio, for a panel discussion titled “Immigration Justice Work of Ohio: Regional Response to Immigration Enforcement.” Organized by Unitarian Universalist Justice Ohio, the session brought together individuals actively engaged in supporting immigrant communities across the state, highlighting both the challenges posed by immigration enforcement and the innovative, community-based responses emerging in Ohio.

The panel featured Lynn Buffington, Demba Ndiath, Jan Phillips, and Samantha Searls —each representing a different but complementary approach to immigration justice.

People who were deported are often discarded in the immigration policy debate. OIA’s #ReuniteUS advocacy program exists to change that.

In this post, Mustapha Komeh and Selly and Amadou Dia show was Ohio’s immigrant (and second-generation) leaders can do when they use their voices.

The goals of #ReuniteUS might not be possible soon. But we insist on changing U.S. immigration laws and policies to actually address human needs, social ties, family relationships, community benefits, and humanitarian protection, however long it takes.

In two videos, OIA’s Lynn Tramonte talks about people helping people inside immigration jail, and how those of us on the outside can get involved; Mustapha Komeh tells us what “life” is like inside immigration jail.

People in those jail cells deserve to eat real food, buy warm clothing, and be able to call their loved ones and lawyers when they need to. But at the end of it all, we see that immigration jail is about profit and money motivations, not what is best for communities or society. And that is why the entire system needs to be dismantled.

From Welcome To Deportation is the forthcoming book from Demba Ndiath, Ohio Immigrant Alliance’s Advocacy Director, about West African migration along the “bottom route” to the United States.

It does more than diagnose problems and document pain. It advances solutions; improvements to today’s immigration system like guaranteed legal representation for people with cases in civil immigration court; a truly independent immigration judiciary, rather than one fully controlled by the Executive Branch; and an end to immigration jail.

Right now, Ohioans are being arrested, incarcerated, and treated like they are disposable, because they are immigrants. That is wrong. We demand an end to “civil” immigration jail, and action from Congress to reign in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and build an immigration system that recognizes that migration is part of being human.

Between May 23 and May 30, communities across Ohio are coming together for a statewide week of interfaith vigils in solidarity with people held in civil immigration detention (a.k.a. ICE jail). Faith leaders, organizers, and community members will raise their voices, hold space for reflection, and stand in collective action. The coordinated week of action calls for:

• An end to ICE detention

• Transparency in detention facility funding

• An end to 287(g) agreements

The Ohio Immigrant Alliance (OIA) hosted a preview of its upcoming concert at the Columbus Arts Festival, called “Ohio Is My Second Country,” with Demba Ndiath, Shema Asifiwe, and Salif Sarr. Watch the video; read the summary; and view the presentation.

OIA’s concert will take place on Saturday, June 13, at 3pm on the festival’s Cultural Arts Center Stage at 139 W. Main Street (map). Attendees should ARRIVE EARLY (2pm or earlier), as the festival is large and OIA time slot starts right at 3pm.

On June 13, you can dance to hits from Salif Sarr, a Mauritanian-American pop star based in Columbus. Listen to this playlist to get ready; and order your concert t-shirt to wear at the festival. Salif is internationally renowned for his voice and songs that highlight Fulani culture and his love for his people.

Ohio Immigrant Alliance just released, “Ending Immigration Jail in Ohio: How and Why,” a report that breaks down the concept of immigration jail into simple terms; provides examples of successful community organizing to end ICE jail contracts in Ohio; and offers recommendations for a more logical and humane policy.

From May 23-30, organizers are planning a week of action to end ICE jail, with interfaith vigils in communities around the state.

More than 200 leading human rights, humanitarian, civil liberties, faith-based and environmental organizations, think tanks, and experts issued a joint urgent statement in response to President Trump’s threat to carry out genocide in Iran if his demands are not met.

The Ohio Immigrant Alliance was one of them.

The Ohio Immigrant Alliance filed a comment about the Interim Final Rule, Appellate Procedures for the Board of Immigration Appeals, Docket No. EOIR-26-AB37, Dir. Order No. 03-2026, RIN 1125-AB37 with the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR) today.

A Cleveland detective, Donald Kopchak, was just found guilty on two counts of felony abduction, one count of ethnic intimidation, and one misdemeanor assault charge for the 2023 Hinckley hate crime he instigated. He will be sentenced in June.

His co-conspirator, Daniel Lajack, pled guilty and will be sentenced this week. Neither should be working for law enforcement.

A new ACLU of Ohio report, “ICE in Ohio,” outlines the different types of formal agreements that ICE enters into with state and local governments, under section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Also, wrote the ACLU of Ohio, “On any given day, ICE has access to 1,272 jail beds across Ohio. If every bed available to ICE was full every day of the year, the total cost to the federal taxpayer would be $54,343,113.”

The Cincinnati Enquirer profiles heroes who are helping their communities stay safe during a time of heightened immigration enforcement in “Beyond the protests, ICE resisters work to protect local immigrants." The Ohio Immigrant Alliance is included.

Anticipating major changes in immigration policy during the second Trump administration, Ohio Immigrant Alliance started the Ohio Immigrant Hotline in January 2025. We knew this resource was needed due to our experiences during the first Trump presidency, when helping each other deal with stressful immigration situations was vital. The Hotline is part of our “Build The Nest” strategy and the OhioIsHome.org resource website. 

On March 25, OIA released a report about the Hotline’s first year of existence, using Hotline operations data, called “Connecting Ohio: The Ohio Immigrant Hotline’s First Year in Action.”

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will being assisting Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents with “managing passenger lines, monitoring exits and checking identification,” according to the federal government, as reported by the Akron Beacon Journal (behind paywall).

Yet Cleveland Hopkins communications manager Michele Dynia said: “These personnel are supporting TSA operations in a non-screening role, including assisting with passenger flow and divesting. They are not conducting identification checks or screening passengers.”

Which is it?

The Columbus Dispatch exposed the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office’s booking policy and how jail officials work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Despite the City of Columbus declaring itself welcoming to immigrants, the County Sheriff is going above and beyond what is required in federal law, and feeding people to ICE who may be U.S. citizens or otherwise not deportable.