Cleveland police will not enforce federal immigration law, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb announced Tuesday.
"My administration will not engage in the deportation of individuals who have not committed violent crimes. No law requires that we do so," Bibb wrote in a statement. "Cleveland police are tasked with protecting public safety, and while we will take action against anybody who commits violent crimes, we are not enforcing general federal immigration law. Our police are not here to play politics or be used as a tool for fear."
On Sunday, federal immigration officials brought 20 people to the Geauga County jail, which serves as one of two detention centers in the state for immigrants facing civil immigration charges. The co-owner of Cilantro Taqueria in Cleveland Heights told WKYC that six of those taken into custody Sunday worked at the restaurant, which was closed Monday evening.
News of the arrests and the crackdown nationwide left many in Northeast Ohio migrant communities fearful, advocates said.
Bibb denounced that action:
"I fully condemn the concentrated effort to threaten and terrify our most vulnerable populations," he said. "Arresting immigrants working in a suburban restaurant does not make us safer."
The federal government should prioritize law enforcement resources "combating violent crime and promoting safety across all communities," Bibb wrote, adding the city is willing to work with the feds to fight crime.
"We stand ready to support federal efforts to combat human trafficking, drug trafficking, gun trafficking—any number of offenses that may involve international actors," he wrote.
Bibb's comments come as the Trump administration has taken steps to fulfill campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration. Over the weekend, federal agents from several agencies assisted with targeted enforcement actions in Chicago and other cities.
The success of the Trump administration's mass deportation plan depends on funding from Congress, Trump's "border czar" Tom Homan told ABC News. Last week, the U.S. Justice Department issued a memo ordering federal prosecutors to investigate state or local officials who they believe are interfering with the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, the Associate Press reported.
The state, counties and cities need to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement because local communities and states do not have the authority to make their own immigration policies, Ohio's Attorney General Dave Yost said Monday.
But Bibb said that no law requires his administration to engage in the deportation of individuals who have not committed violent crimes.
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther’s office pointed to a 2017 executive order that said says the city will not discriminate against people based on their immigration status and absent a court order and will not deploy resources for the sole purpose of detecting or apprehending someone based on suspicions of their immigration status. However, Ginther’s office said Columbus will comply with state and federal laws.
Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval has said his city will follow any new federal immigration policy.
Yost said he thinks the state needs a law to make sure cities have the same consistent policy when it comes to immigration.
“As we are seeing a change in policy and the enforcement at the federal level, I think it's important for the state of Ohio to make sure that local governments aren't trying to do a DIY immigration policy,” Yost said. “Local governments don't have any more right to make their own immigration policy than they do to print their own money. There's certain things that belong to the national government.”
Bibb also criticized the Trump administration's decision to end a policy against arresting migrants at sensitive locations like schools and churches.
"Targeting schools, hospitals, and places of worship is obscene," Bibb wrote. "Immigrants are human beings. They have elevated our home by contributing their talents and cultures here. They support our economy. They attend our churches. They are our neighbors. Immigrants have been integral to our city’s story for generations."
"Our strength comes from our people, and Cleveland is strongest when we act together," Bibb wrote. "As a united community, we will ensure that Cleveland remains on the right side of history."
