source: Lynnn Tramonte
Summarizing of report: Ending immigration jail in Ohio (how and why)
Ending Immigration Jail in Ohio -Part Three: When Immigrants, Loved Ones, and Organizers Saved
Part Three - Case Study: When Immigrants, Loved Ones, and Organizers Saved
Between 2017 and 2022, during the first Trump administration, Ohio immigrants bravely spoke out about inhumane and abusive treatment inside Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities, with help from their loved ones, the Ohio Immigrant Alliance, Ohio Immigrant Visitation, lawyers, and other organizers. By the beginning of the Biden administration, this effort led to the cancellation of two county jail contracts with ICE, cutting total incarceration capacity in Ohio by 90% — from a high of 596 “beds” per day at five jails, to a low of 59 “beds” at two facilities.1 Deportations across the entire Detroit Field Office Area of Responsibility fell by 58% — saving thousands of people from deportation over a period of four years.
Black Mauritanians Started the First Decarceration Campaign in Ohio:
The Ohio Immigrant Alliance’s decarceration work during the first Trump administration started in 2017 with Black Mauritanian freedom fighters, who had already survived a genocide and built new lives in the United States. Suddenly, with the change in presidential administration, they were being deported to a country that had killed their loved ones, and from which they had barely escaped, years earlier.
They organized themselves inside Ohio immigration jails to try to prevent their deportations, because they knew what awaited them. Black people deported to Mauritania were being arrested, tortured, and disappeared. They protected each other, contacting each other’s lawyers, advocates, and family members when one was being moved to another facility or potentially deported, so that emergency deportation stays could be filed.
As incarcerated Black Mauritanians and community leaders exposed the injustices of deportation to a country that had tortured them, they also began to speak out publicly against their mistreatment in Ohio immigration jails, especially the Morrow and Butler County Jails. This was incredibly brave, considering the fact that speaking out was often met with retaliation by jailers. But many of these individuals had activism in their blood. They were civil rights organizers and had faced oppression before, when Black leaders were hung because they dared to demand human rights. They also held tightly to their Muslim faith, which told them that every person had human dignity in the eyes of God.
The Campaign Catches On:
The campaign expanded beyond Mauritanians as widespread abuses in Ohio jails under the Detroit ICE Field Office came to light. Immigrants, families, and advocacy groups formed networks to expose conditions, focusing on Morrow and Butler County jails while also targeting NEOCC in Youngstown. Protests and media coverage increased, and the release of three Mauritanians marked a turning point; NEOCC later ended its ICE contract.
From 2018, detainees continued reporting unsafe conditions in Morrow County Jail, leading to complaints, legal action, and public pressure. The jail, far from immigration courts and located in a county with few immigrants, functioned largely as a revenue source. Advocacy groups amplified these issues through national and local media.
Personal stories, including Awa Harouna’s and her father’s resistance to deportation, highlighted the human impact. During COVID, immigrant rights groups partnered with broader criminal justice reform movements, strengthening decarceration efforts and public awareness.
With COVID-19, Jail Mismanagement Impossible to Ignore:
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, OIA used information provided by doctors and family members of incarcerated people to call for broad decarceration and ran an online petition to spread this message. Although all Ohio jails had infectious disease protocols in place, many refused to follow them, and people’s lives were on the line. The public was slightly more willing to have a conversation about who “needed” to be in jail and who did not, although awareness about the existence of immigration jail was (and is) still limited.
Morrow Becomes First 100% COVID-Positive Jail in the US:
The Morrow County Sheriff and County Health Commissioner were forced to respond to our report documenting their 100% COVID infection rate and did so disingenuously. But Judge Morrison issued a freeze on allowing new inmates to book into Morrow County Jail. We shaped media coverage and the Sheriff came off as defensive, with stories in the Mansfield News Journal, Columbus Dispatch. and Spectrum News.
Officials were forced to respond to reports of a 100% COVID infection rate in Morrow County Jail, while advocacy actions including protests, call campaigns, and public testimony intensified pressure. Media coverage portrayed the Sheriff as defensive, and tense public meetings revealed limited accountability despite growing scrutiny.
Advocates continued exposing mismanagement and dangerous conditions, including medical neglect, deaths, escapes, and corruption, while gathering testimonies from detainees and families. At the same time, organizing expanded to Butler County and broader decarceration efforts.
As staffing shortages worsened and medical care collapsed, legal action halted new ICE detainees. Remaining detainees were transferred elsewhere, and by the end of 2020, ICE detention in Morrow had ended. The campaign declared victory in early 2021, though significant harm had already been done.
After losing ICE revenue, the county shifted to incarcerating more local residents, particularly for drug-related issues, highlighting how the jail’s existence depended on maintaining high incarceration levels rather than community needs.
The Butler Arm of the Decarceration Campaign:
During summer 2020, immigrants from Morrow were released, deported, or transferred to Butler County Jail, where similarly harsh conditions persisted. Detainees were confined for most of the day, denied adequate food, medical care, and religious freedom, and subjected to violence and neglect.
In response, detainees and advocates organized testimonies, filed complaints, and launched a lawsuit against ICE and Butler County after reports of abuse, including assaults and widespread medical neglect. Over fifty detainees signed a letter detailing inhumane conditions and violations of basic rights.
These efforts contributed to the end of ICE contracts in both Morrow and Butler by 2021, sharply reducing detention capacity in Ohio. However, many of those who spoke out were deported, even as some remained and continued advocacy. Organizing then shifted to other facilities, including Seneca County Jail, through complaints and public reporting.
Sustained Immigrant Leadership:
The leadership that detained immigrants built and sustained throughout this campaign continued, even after their deportation. And, OIA continued to hold ICE and Ohio corrections companies and counties accountable. With our help, one person sued ICE and CoreCivic for medical neglect he experienced in detention, and achieved a settlement to pay for his care. The deportations of activists and beloved community members led OIA to create #ReuniteUS, a campaign to change policy so that more people who were deported can come home. OIA started a WhatsApp group for people who were deported and wanted to be involved in the effort, and worked with national policy experts to identify paths to return in existing law.
People who were deported continue to speak up about their experiences in U.S. immigration jails, and demand an end to ICE detention. “Finally, at least one government body has found that everything we were saying was true. They’re still missing some things; this is just the tip of the iceberg. There is no fixing this system. ICE detention should not exist,” said Saidu Sow, an organizer with OIA, responding to an NPR report.
Trump 2.0 Increases Immigration Jail Over 1,000%
In 2025, the Trump administration dramatically increased immigration jail in Ohio, practically overnight. Some sheriffs in Ohio might think this is a great way to earn extra funds, but the moral, legal, and financial costs are actually high. OIA is working with local organizers, immigrants, and their loved ones to document abuses in detention, mobilize the public, and educate local officials about what is happening behind cell walls.
to read the report click here
