Local immigration advocates are calling on Ohio sheriffs not to engage in President Donald Trump’s plans for mass deportations. There’s no obligation to participate in federal enforcement, advocates said in a letter sent to Ohio sheriff's Friday.
Trump ran on a platform of mass deportations and true to his word, signed sweeping executive orders Monday addressing immigration. The executive orders included declaring a national emergency at the southern border, canceling an app that allowed migrants to legally enter the U.S., suspending refugee resettlement and attempted to end birthright citizenship, which is protected by the 14th Amendment. A coalition of civil rights and immigrant rights groups have already sued the administration over this executive order.
Trump has signaled he will begin mass deportations quickly after taking office, but he would likely need the support of local law enforcement to follow through, immigration experts have said.
Local sheriffs do not have to help with mass deportations or detain immigrants in county jails for civil immigration charges, American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio Legal Director Freda Levenson said.
“There is no obligation for local law enforcement to participate in federal immigration enforcement," she said.
These agreements between sheriffs and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement aim to deport people who have civil immigration charges, like being in the country without proper authorization or overstaying a visa, not for criminal charges and are detrimental to communities, Levenson said.
"Often these are the breadwinners of the families. Often this leaves children without a parent," she said. "It's a very inhumane practice, and it's subjecting people to criminal treatment for a civil violation."
These agreements also put a burden on local taxpayers, Levenson said.
“They impose large, unfunded mandates on local taxpayers," she said. "Taxpayers – local taxpayers would have to foot the bill for staffing, salaries, benefits, overtime for their own local officers to participate in these federal efforts.”
This has caused issues for other counties, Levenson said.
“In other states across the country, sheriffs have terminated these agreements because of the overwhelming cost," she said.
The agreements can also weaken trust in law enforcement, Levenson said.
"When the local community perceives that the police are working for ICE, they begin to avoid local authorities, making it harder to protect communities from crime," she said.
Currently, no county in Ohio has an agreement with ICE to help with federal enforcement of immigration policy, called 287(g) agreements. Only, two counties, Geauga and Seneca, have an ICE detention contract.
