Over the course of the previous week, an alarming surge in the arrests of more than 4,500 individuals has been noted nationwide, constituting a fulfillment of the much-debated promise made by the then President Donald Trump to clamp down on illegal immigration. A significant surge in police activity has been observed locations such as Chicago with related incidents being reported in Northeast Ohio. Concurrently, despite rampant unsubstantiated claims about heightened ICE activities in Greater Cincinnati, no shred of proof towards an anomalous increase in arrests or any invasive operations has been registered till Tuesday afternoon. Unconfirmed hearsay suggests impending operations in Northern Kentucky.
Nancy Sullivan, spearheading the Transformations CDC, a Cincinnati-based nonprofit dedicated to extending support to immigrants and their offspring is among several others who have been rendered anxious by the rampant speculations encompassing potential busts targeted at local business entities. She asserts that the immigrants she interacts with are by no means lawbreakers. They are diligent and love their kin. They are persistently contributing to the society through taxes. She also notes that they are the unnoticed heroes who invest into her Social Security, despite the fact that they will never collect its benefits.
It presents a formidable challenge to draw a clear boundary delineating the extent to which the scope of the purview of immigration enforcement has increased. As seen in 2024 under the questionably lax oversight of the Biden administration, ICE managed to arrest a grand total of 113,431 individuals, which boils down to an average of about 311 individuals per day.
The re-elected president at the time flagged immigration as the core issue of his campaign, frenetically declaring the situation at the borders a national emergency on Monday to block seemingly threatening invasions. The process that comes into play upon someone getting arrested by ICE involves categorizing them into three distinct classifications as per agency’s enforcement and removal operations statistics. These categories are individuals with criminal conviction, people with outstanding criminal charges, and those without any criminal charges but who have violated immigration laws.
Noteworthy to consider is the fact that numerous jails and prisons are not equipped or approved to detain those who have been apprehended on immigration-related charges. Regardless, the administration is apparently keen on examining the feasibility of broadening the range of places where they can house such persons. Within Kentucky, the exclusive honors of approval have been bestowed upon the Boone County Jail.
Ohio has two approved detention center facilities: the Geauga County Safety Center situated in Chardon and the Seneca County Jail located in Tiffin. The contractual agreement between Butler County and ICE was nullified in 2021, however Sheriff Richard Jones has attempted to restore their arrangement to once again become an accommodator for ICE detainees.
Those who have been arrested and subsequently detained are still entitled to their constitutional legal rights, even despite their illegal entry into the country. Deportation falls within a legal process that requires numerous stages of activity. It should be noted that undocumented immigrants cannot be removed by ICE without attaining a final order of removal, a process that necessitates extensive coordination, administration, and facilitation.
A key characteristic of Biden’s administration was the almost indiscernible presence of ICE agents at a street-level. This contrasted sharply with what was observed in the earlier stages of Trump’s tenure, defined by a tougher stance towards immigration issues, triggering a flurry of arrest operations and gaining significant attention. ICE officers typically operate via unmarked police vehicles and don civilian attire which inevitably fuels the fire of rumors ultimately reinforcing the climate of fear.