We warned Butler County we’d take legal action if they hurt members of our community.
Now, we’re following through.
We have two big announcements at the Ohio Immigrant Alliance!
First, we just sued the Butler County Jail, for the second time. The Ohio Justice & Policy Center (OJPC) and Washington, DC-based Norris Law Group just filed a federal lawsuit against the Butler County Jail. On June 8, 2025, a sergeant assaulted Luis Tenelanda, a construction worker and father detained for ICE. Mr. Tenelanda bravely came forward to demand justice and accountability. Join the legal team for a virtual press conference on Tuesday, May 19, at 10am. Register here to get the Zoom link.
Speakers will include OJPC CEO Gabe Davis; Whit Froehlich with the Norris Law Group, and Lynn Tramonte, Executive Director of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance and a friend and advocate for Luis Tenelanda, the victim at the center of the federal filing.
The assault on Mr. Tenelanda, which occurred as guards were upset about a demonstration outside the jail, didn’t need to happen. Experts warned Butler County Commissioners that Sheriff Jones wasn’t capable of following the law, and shouldn’t be allowed to regain the contract he lost in 2021. In January 2025, Tramonte wrote on Bluesky: “If Jones is able to restart his ICE contract, we will have eyes and ears in every one of those cells + take him to court to add to the abuse case that’s already pending.” That happened.
She also told Ohio Capital Journal that County Commissioners “have to factor in [the costs of] litigation because immigrants who are in ICE jail have rights. They have the right to medical treatment, they have the right to decent food and access to legal resources and all these things. Are you getting enough money from the federal government to cover your costs — including the cost of potential litigation if you violate people’s rights?”
A 2020 lawsuit filed by two immigrants, and a related 2021 suit filed by a U.S. citizen, are still pending before the same federal judge. It’s not easy to come forward as individuals and hold powerful people and institutions accountable. OIA is grateful to the courageous plaintiffs and lawyers working to end these abusive systems.
Second, OIA 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. Using government data from the Deportation Data Project, 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, using National Crime Information Center classifications.
Said John Drury, the OIA researcher who wrote the report, “The federal government has framed this buildup as a public safety operation, but the data tell a different story. Only five percent had violent criminal convictions. The scale and composition of this system cannot be reconciled with the stated justification for its existence.” Download the full report here.
ALSO -- May 23-30 is a week of action to end ICE jail. There will be vigils outside of all six ICE detention centers in Ohio. Learn more here.
And, if you are in Cleveland, OIA's Lynn Tramonte will be speaking at the Coventry Village Library in Cleveland Heights on May 21. Come learn about OIA's book Broken Hope: Deportation and the Road Home with Suma Setty at the Center for Law and Social Policy, and the new coloring book Ohio Is My Second Country, with high school artist Shema Asifiwe.
