Faith leaders, advocates, and community members will gather for a statewide Week of Action featuring interfaith vigils in solidarity with people held in civil immigration detention (ICE jail) between May 23 and May 30.

These peaceful events will include prayer, reflection, and brief speaking programs. 

Today we held a press conference about the lawsuit against Butler County, Sheriff Jones, and Sgt. Corneal Rowe on behalf of Luis Tenelanda, a compassionate and brave man who was assaulted while detained in the Butler County Jail for ICE.

If you missed it, you can watch the recording and read a summary and transcript here, as well as download the complaint, Luis' statement, and other materials.

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.

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.

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.

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?

With the immigration courts not functioning fairly or well, immigrants and lawyers are taking cases to federal court and the circuit courts of appeals in hopes of finally obtaining justice. Here's what you need to know about the latest court challenges and policy shifts affecting immigrants across the state.

In a statement, OIA ED Lynn Tramonte says “the allegations of sexual abuse carried out by Cesar Chavez are horrific. Farm workers and their families have always been treated with indignity in this country, despite the fact that they literally keep us alive, and businesses in operation. Hearing of abuses committed by one of the movement’s leaders is confusing and devastating.

“But the people who matter here are the survivors, and the fact that they are talking about what happened.”

The Ohio Immigrant Alliance is launching the Brave Of Us Tattoo Design Contest, calling on all tattoo artists and apprentices to express what it looks like to be in solidarity with immigrants at this moment in history. The contest’s themes include Family & Love; Freedom & Safety; Bravery & Strength; Unity Across Differences; and Reclaiming Identity & Culture.

The first organization to join our new sponsorship program at the Ohio Immigrant Hotline is Vibrant Ohio. For the entire month of March, VO is supporting our work to respond to the calls, texts, and emails coming into the Hotline from across Ohio. We are grateful for community partners who recognize that systems like these help keep us safe and protect all of our rights.  

Vibrant Ohio is a statewide organization that enhances local immigrant and refugee integration efforts to build a more inclusive, equitable and prosperous Ohio economy. They believe that immigrants, refugees, and the broader international community all make Ohio a more vibrant place to call home. Vibrant Ohio serves as a trusted connector to Ohio immigrants and refugees, including those in our major cities and a growing number of smaller communities.

Updates from Ohio’s Creative Community; the Hotline; True Public Safety, OIA in the Wild, and More!

The Cincinnati Enquirer published an important story about an Ohio man at risk of detention and deportation (read behind paywall). Nadhirou Tambadou is a hero and leader of a movement to demand human rights for Black Mauritanians, who was finally forced to seek safety in the United States after years of persecution by the Mauritanian government.

The Guardian is reporting that at least six Customs and Border Patrol officers had personal relationships with Jeffrey Epstein, and were involved in facilitating group travel to and from his private island.

The Ohio Immigrant Alliance has been tracking the number of ICE and Border Patrol agents committing sexual and/or violent crimes against women and children. Since we first published the list we have had to update it several times, as more criminal agents continue to get arrested. The total as of February 26, 2026 is 37, with two-thirds of the agents committing sexual offenses against children. This list does not even include the six agents who helped facilitate travel to Epstein’s island, as they have not yet been charged with crimes.

The Ohio Immigrant Hotline is a public good that serves the entire state. That’s why we are inviting organizations, individuals, and businesses to show their support for the Hotline by sponsoring it today. It costs approximately $6,000 for us to run the Hotline for a month, including incident intake and fulfillment. We have three tiers of sponsorship available.

When things feel heavy, Ohio’s creative community shows up.

Over the past few weeks, we at the Ohio Immigrant Alliance (OIA) have been moved by the ways people across the state are stepping up to support immigrants and speak out against ICE. Artists of all kinds are using their crafts to raise money to support our mission. Restaurants are putting their menus to work. And more is on the way. Ohioans are being both creative and brave, using their talents to fund immigrant protection and show support for a fair and humane immigration policy.

Said Lynn Tramonte, Executive Director of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance, “Art gives us access to worlds we’ve never seen, and helps us see our world in new ways. Food is another thing we have in common across backgrounds, and a way for people to come together. We are so grateful to the artists, makers, activators, and good people throughout Ohio who are working to make this a better state and donating to our cause. We have no room at our tables for ICE. We only have room for each other.” 

Here's what's happening right now, from DJs, tattoo and textile artists, restaurants, authors, pop-up markets, and more. There’s still time to support their work and make a donation to OIA. If you want to start your own fundraiser, contact us at hotline@ohioimmigrant.org for support.