In “Uncertain and Heavy Times,” Greater Columbus Shows Up for Immigrants
COLUMBUS - In Central Ohio, the federal government has unleashed untrained individuals from outside the community, who think they are unaccountable. But greater Columbus has responded in one voice. From the grassroots, which quickly organized itself in sophisticated ways, to civic leaders and faith-based institutions, Columbus is sending a unified message: Immigrants are welcome, ICE is not. Read on for quotes from leaders; more examples of ICE brutality; and resources keeping the community safe.
Columbus Responds With One Voice
From disrupting ICE agents’ sleep, to documenting abuses and holding them to the Constitution, Central Ohio activists, lawyers, and organizers are mobilized around the clock.
People are showing up to defend their neighbors’ right to pray. Community-serving organizations like Our Helpers are delivering food to people hunkering down at home, starting with over 100 families today. They are accepting financial donations, and volunteers are coming out of the woodwork to help. Said Anisa Liban, Board Secretary with Our Helpers, “Today was about more than packing meals for delivery; it was about showing up for our neighbors. With the help of more than 35 volunteers across Central Ohio, over 100 families received meals this morning, and this is only the beginning.”
The Ohio Immigrant Hotline has been flooded with calls from people offering support to immigrants. Other ways to engage include:
Joining the Community Response Hub of Central Ohio to help meet urgent needs in Central Ohio.
Purchasing #ICEOutOfCbus merchandise to spread the message.
Donating to the Fund for Immigration Legal Assistance.
The National Lawyers Guild-Ohio Chapter set up a tip line to report rights abuses. Hundreds attended an organizing meeting at PSL Columbus’ Liberation Center. There was a massive protest yesterday. We are all coordinated and working together to keep the community safe.
What ICE Has Brought to Columbus - Chaos and Car Accidents
ICE agents from outside the state are acting like vigilantes, causing chaos and car accidents while racially profiling people who live, work, study, and pay taxes in Ohio. Shanna Harrell, a resident of Glen Echo, opened her front door to discover ICE and police cruisers after an ICE-induced car chase ended on her street. The person that ICE was stalking had ejected themselves from the vehicle.
“Most of all, I'm truly saddened and angry that someone may have been disappeared in my own front yard,” she said. “We know very little, but a couple of neighbors witnessed the incident. Hopefully, they captured video and photos of the person as they were being taken into custody, so their family may be informed. We are living in uncertain and heavy times.”
Additional examples of ICE excesses, outlined below, were gathered from reports to the Ohio Immigrant Hotline.
Cars containing ICE agents are driving around Columbus and the suburbs, following drivers and turning on flashing lights when they spot someone of darker skin. If the person doesn’t immediately stop, ICE pursues them at high speeds, putting everyone in the community at risk.
Rather than looking for specific individuals, as the government claims, ICE is stalking stereotypical places where immigrants gather, like international stores, construction sites, apartment complexes, schools, and houses of worship. They are demanding proof of citizenship from anyone who is not white.
Some people ICE arrested have driver’s licenses and legal work permits, and have lived in the country for years, if not decades. They include people with U.S. citizen spouses and other family members. Few are specifically targeted by name, or have criminal histories. The vast majority have been arrested for simply being out in the community, working and taking care of their families.
Local jails that do not have ICE contracts appear to be serving as temporary holding facilities, until individuals can be transported to the Corrections Center of Northern Ohio, Butler County, or other jails. Jails operated by the counties of Knox, Morrow, Greene, and Fairfield, as well as the Tri-County Regional Jail, may be holding individuals for ICE until they can be sent to jails with long-term ICE contracts.
Notably, Morrow County lost its ICE contract in 2020 after its mismanagement led to the death of a Dayton father, Oscar Lopez, and the jail became the first 100% COVID-positive facility in the United States. In an order from a lawsuit brought by the ACLU of Ohio, U.S. District Judge Sarah D. Morrison, a Trump-appointee, wrote,“Morrow’s inability to control the spread of infection, its demonstrated failures at monitoring detainees’ symptoms, and its poor conditions create an unconstitutionally acceptable environment.” The fact that Morrow appears to be back in the ICE business is deeply troubling.
When people arrive at Butler for booking, they are being told they cannot have access to lawyers or medication, including for chronic and potentially fatal illnesses. Unfortunately, medical neglect has been a problem that the Ohio Immigrant Alliance and others have documented in ICE jail the entire year, especially at Butler.
Currently, deaths in ICE detention nationwide are at a 20-year high. Imam Fouad complained of chest pains and was denied medical treatment in the Moshannan Valley Processing Center. He died on December 14. The Butler County Jail already has one lawsuit pending from the last time it held immigrants for ICE, due to racism and violence. It is recklessly hurtling toward another.
Community members have had to organize safety patrols not only for neighbors, but for schools, mosques, churches, children’s birthday parties, and even a funeral — protection just to help neighbors mourn in peace.
Quotes from Community Leaders
Rev. Jed Dearing, Rector, Trinity Episcopal Church (Capitol Square), referencing The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”
“It is now our migrant neighbors in Columbus who live in a ‘tiptoe stance.’ Christmas is a season when the only tiptoeing should be the quiet placing of gifts under the tree. Instead, many of our neighbors are in hiding, with lights dimmed low, in fear of their families being separated. The cruelty of ICE invading Columbus and destroying families during a season where Christians celebrate the Holy Family, with the Christ child born in vulnerability, is not lost on many in the faith community. I’m heartened by how many people of faith are joining together, emboldened by the indiscriminate love of God to work for peace and goodwill among all people in the face of these horrors.”
Rev. Jason Emerson, Rector, St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church (Dublin)
“Many Christian traditions this year are going to read the gospel of Matthew on Sunday mornings. I can’t help but think about the story of the holy family having to flee to Egypt to escape the violence of an insecure and despotic King. In Christ we see the immigrant. In the immigrant we see Christ. Near the end of Matthew’s gospel Jesus lays out that a righteous nation will welcome the stranger. I can’t help but notice the intentionality of ICE raids at this time of year. It is in deep contrast with the gospel of the birth of Jesus. For people to be unlawfully detained and deported is contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Rev. Julia Joyce-Miesse, Rector, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church (Granville)
“We stand with our neighbors, create relationships with our neighbors, and speak out for our neighbors when we witness power being used in destructive ways. In our faith tradition, we believe that God in Christ came down at Christmas because that is who God is…love. We are called to stand with our immigrant siblings because that is what love does.”
Lynn Tramonte, Executive Director, Ohio Immigrant Alliance
“Immigrants and the Columbus residents standing up to ICE are courageous. ICE agents hiding behind masks, roaming our streets and pulling people over for no reason but the color of their skin, are cowards. It takes courage and strength to move to another country, learn a new language and culture, and build a new life. Migration is something we do as human beings, and it’s something we will always do, in order to survive. Immigrants come here because they want to take care of their families. Taking care of our loved ones is something we have in common, no matter where we were born. We shouldn’t hate people from other countries just because politicians tell us to. It was wrong when they did it to my ancestors 100 years ago and it’s wrong today.
“It’s up to policymakers to create immigration laws that are humane, fair, and rational — not immigrants. The people ICE is going after are doing the best they can within a broken system. They are trying to follow the law, as it is written. The truth is, the laws have failed us. And no one can defend or justify what we are seeing on the streets of Columbus today. No one can say this is how we should enforce the incoherent set of immigration laws written by Congress. We need humane immigration reform, and that needs to happen in Washington, DC. Not on the streets of Columbus. ICE needs to go. Let us be together in peace.”
Maria Bruno, Executive Director, Ohioans Against Extremism
“In contrast to the inspiring leadership from around Columbus, what we are seeing from ICE is chaos, racial profiling, and zero accountability. An ‘arrest now, ask questions later’ approach isn’t just bad policing, it’s a violation of the U.S. Constitution, which protects all people from government overreach. Untrained masked vigilantes playing dress-up cops is un-American, and it makes us all less safe.”
Additional Resources
Follow this landing page for an updated list of ways you can help.
Share and use the OhioIsHome.org protection website. There are resources for immigrants, schools, businesses, service providers, and members of the community, in multiple languages.
Learn about the Ohio Immigrant Hotline and share it on social media using this toolkit. Donate to support the hotline’s operations at https://bit.ly/DonateOIA.
