In this post, Ohio Immigrant Alliance breaks down how police, Border Patrol, and ICE are really three branches of the same poisonous family tree.

The article quotes Cynthia Brown from the Ohio Coalition to End Qualified Immunity and various Ohio Immigrant Alliance publications on the immigration agencies’ histories, the agents they hire, public safety and Flock cameras, as well as solutions.

From OIA’s Demba Ndiath:

In June, I had the opportunity to travel from Ohio to Minneapolis, Minnesota, to attend The Brave of Us: Midwest Democracy & Power Summit, organized by the Immigrant Defense Network. The gathering brought together advocates, organizers, community leaders, volunteers, and allies from across the Midwest who share a common commitment to defending democracy, protecting immigrant rights, and building collective power.

Trump's Afrikaner refugee policy is based on racism and outright lies. One of our partner organizations, the International Institute of Akron, recently made the difficult decision to reject federal funding for refugee resettlement because the Trump administration "essentially eliminated refugee arrivals."

ICE’s murderous, unaccountable agents are uniting the country in outrage from north to south. The editorial boards of the Houston Chronicle and the Maine Trust for Local News issued a joint editorial, following the killings of two fathers, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Texas and Johan Sebastián in Maine. It begins: “The state of Maine and the city of Houston, Texas, have little in common. But today we find ourselves speaking in a united voice about the violence and chaos that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has brought to our respective corners of the country.”

Video recording, final report, data, and other content from the release of OIA’s new report, “The Worst of the Worst: 152 Sexually and Physically Abusive ICE and Border Agents; Implications for U.S. Communities and Actions Needed from Congress.”

Hamilton Journal-News is out with a bombshell in Luis Tenelanda’s lawsuit against the Butler County Jail.

Denise G. Callahan writes, “The personnel records of a Butler County Jail sergeant accused of injuring an ICE detainee indicate he has had one other excessive force complaint during his 11-year tenure on staff at the corrections facility.”

Sergeant Corneal Rowe punched a handcuffed inmate twice in the face, four months assaulting Luis in 2025. As with Luis' assault, "the deputy warden found Rowe blameless."

Last month the nation learned, in horror, about the many reasons ICE should not have hired David Brouillette — the agent who killed Johan Sebastián while he was driving. At the same time, the Ohio Immigrant Alliance published a report about 59 other ICE and Border Patrol agents with violent and/or sexually abusive criminal histories. As soon as we hit post in late July, the report became obsolete.

On August 18, at 11am ET, OIA will release a major update, with nearly 100 new names, alarming offenses, and a panel of experts to discuss what Congress must do to protect the public from the “worst of the worst” — criminal agents with guns and badges.

Said Lynn Tramonte, Executive Director of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance, “Today, I am happy to say, Samuel Saxon no longer supervises people with authority over immigrants. According to Fox19, Samuel Saxon is no longer an employee of ICE. The government did not say whether Saxon resigned, retired, or was terminated. The answer matters, but what matters more is that he is gone.”

The Columbus City Council’s Public Safety & Criminal Justice Committee held a hearing on the city’s use of Flock cameras on August 10. Sixty members of the public signed up to speak.

The Ohio Immigrant Alliance submitted this testimony, written by Executive Director Lynn Tramonte. Read it here.

The Youngstown and Akron-Canton airports are now part of a shadowy network that moves people from jail to jail and, eventually to other countries, in six point shackles, all because of the Trump administration’s incomprehensible immigration policy and Congress’ failure to enact reform. 

Ohioans are tired of our tax dollars being used to support a system we don’t agree with and the separation of families. They have been speaking out against ICE-local jail detention contracts and, on Saturday August 1, will gather at the Akron Canton Regional Airport to demand an end to ICE deportation flights from this airport.

In May 2026, hundreds of Ohioans showed up for the Week of Action to End ICE Jail in Ohio, participating in interfaith vigils outside all six immigration jails in the state. Faith leaders, community members, and advocates stood together in Tiffin, Youngstown, Chardon, Hamilton, and Stryker to deliver a unified message: end immigration jail in Ohio, now and forever.

The work continues, with advocacy this week at the Butler County Commissioners’ meeting and CCNO Board meeting. Read more in this post.

The Ohio Immigrant Alliance released “They Walk Among Us: A List of 59 Sexually and Physically Abusive ICE and Border Agents,” an analysis of sexual and violent crimes committed by ICE and Border Patrol agents who primarily preyed upon women and children.

The report documents 59 cases of violent and/or sexual criminal acts by DHS employees, primarily carried out against women and children. It puts the criminal behavior of these agents in context with the agencies’ cultures, as well as recent policy changes that bode dangerously for public safety. DHS has further loosened agent vetting, hiring, and training standards, eliminated accountability, and expanded the types of dangerous tactics agents are authorized to use in the enforcement of civil immigration laws. 

Law enforcement experts are criticizing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) tactics that killed a record number of civilians on U.S. streets. Police accountability and immigration enforcement experts say deaths will continue until Congress takes ICE's guns and bans them from making community arrests.

Former U.S. Border Patrol Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske spoke to this recently on NPR’s All Things Considered. In addition to numerous federal law enforcement roles, he formerly led police departments in Seattle and Buffalo.

Following is a statement from Lynn Tramonte, Executive Director of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance, in response to the latest fatal shooting by ICE, in Biddeford, ME, as well as ICE agents’ murder of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo last week. 

Pull ICE off all streets in all communities, NOW. They enforce CIVIL laws. There is no reason they should be allowed to invade our communities with guns. 

Click to read more.

The Cincinnati Enquirer published a beautiful story (with photos) about Shema Asifiwe, the high school artist behind the new “Ohio Is My Second Country” coloring book from the Ohio Immigrant Alliance.

The article captures Shema and some of his high school friends, returning to Roselawn Condon elementary school to spend time with the students there. 

Today, the Ohio Immigrant Alliance released its latest data-driven report that shows the Trump administration is lying about who it is arresting, detaining, and deporting.

“Counting Errors, Missing Denominators, and Misplaced Arrests: An Ohio Case Study of the White House ‘Alien Arrest’ Tracker” compares White House data to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) data, revealing startling discrepancies that show the White House site cannot be trusted. 

In its final month, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ton of terrifying decisions that will have damaging and even deadly consequences for Ohioans.

Read this grab bag of updates from OIA ahead of the July 4 holiday.

The Supreme Court upheld that all babies born on U.S. soil are citizens, ruling against the Trump administration on June 30, 2026.

This is a statement from Lynn Tramonte, Executive Director of Ohio Immigrant Alliance.

Today, the Supreme Court made another truly inexplicable, inhumane, and undemocratic decision, ruling against Haitians and Syrians in their quest to maintain Temporary Protected Status in the United States.

In a press conference that took place immediately after receiving the decision, Viles Dorsainvil of the Haitian Support Center in Springfield talked about how Haitian-Ohioans have been on a long journey seeking the right to remain in this country, and will keep figuring it out. He maintained his characteristic composure, but this is clearly a devastating moment for all.

Now, journalists, book reviewers, librarians, educators, and camp, scout, or other group leaders may request free review copies of Ohio Is My Second Country and From Welcome To Deportation via these media kits.