source: Lynnn Tramonte
Summarizing of report: Ending immigration jail in Ohio (how and why)
Ending Immigration Jail in Ohio - Part Four: Working to End ICE Jail in Ohio, Again
Timeline: Backlash to the Butler County Jail’s New ICE Contract:
In May 2021, immigrants, families, lawyers, and activists celebrated the end of Butler County Jail’s ICE contract, though the lawsuit over abuse remained pending. Under the Biden administration, ICE detentions in Ohio dropped sharply, but Sheriff Jones later pushed to restart the contract during the second Trump administration.
In late 2024 and early 2025, Jones and county officials openly treated ICE detention as a source of revenue, while advocacy groups warned about legal risk and launched the Ohio Immigrant Hotline. Jones reinstated the contract in February 2025, triggering renewed reports of abuse, protests, and public scrutiny.
Throughout 2025, detainees, families, faith leaders, and community groups organized around specific cases, including Emerson Colindres, Armando Reyes-Rodriguez, Alonzo Tomas Mendez, and Ayman Soliman. Reports of poor food, denied medical care, retaliation, lockdowns, and solitary confinement fueled ongoing outrage, while courts, lawsuits, and public pressure challenged the jail’s practices.
By late 2025 and into 2026, residents formed Butler County for Immigrant Justice, and protests grew larger and more coordinated. At the same time, state and national reporting exposed overcrowding, low-quality conditions, ICE’s inflated claims about detainees, and the county’s financial dependence on detention revenue.
Columbus Responds: #ICEOutOfCbus
In December 2025, ICE launched “Operation Buckeye,” sending agents into greater Columbus for a five-day enforcement surge. Central Ohio responded with a broad community mobilization, combining city leadership, faith groups, organizers, lawyers, and neighbors to say that immigrants were welcome and ICE was not.
On day one, Columbus officials held a press conference stressing that the city was safer than ever and that raids only made communities weaker. At the same time, the Ohio Immigrant Alliance launched OhioIsHome.org, and residents organized rapid-response networks to track ICE activity, share verified information, and defend their neighbors.
Across the city, people donated food, organized hotlines, held protests, and coordinated through churches, advocacy groups, and community hubs. ICE’s tactics caused fear, car chases, wrongful stops, and retaliation against people documenting arrests, while reports showed that many people targeted were not criminal offenders and some were U.S. citizens or lawful residents.
By the end of the operation, advocates had documented at least 214 arrests, with most detainees appearing Latino and many lacking criminal records. Columbus residents, immigrant groups, and city leaders then pushed for stronger protections, while local reporting exposed ICE’s claims as misleading and showed how federal and county systems were helping mass detention continue.
to read the report here
