Sutton said she was concerned about masked ICE agents conducting federal immigration enforcement in the area.
“I’m just concerned about the fact that our immigrant neighbors are really worried about going out to buy food, to work, to do all the things that we do without any problem at all,” Sutton said.
She asked the city council to look at what cities like Philadelphia are doing to oppose or restrict ICE activities. Philadelphia is implementing an “ICE Out” policy aimed at restricting how federal immigration agents operate within the city.
In Cincinnati, residents are organizing to train others in their communities on how to interact with ICE agents, observe, and document arrests.
“I don’t want to see what’s happening in other states happen here,” Sutton said, likely referring to the controversial, months-long immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota.
The enforcement actions in Minnesota have led to immigration authorities facing backlash from residents and local leaders for warrantless arrests, aggressive clashes with protestors and the fatal shootings of mother of three Renee Good and later of Minneapolis man Alex Pretti, according to the Associated Press.
Immigration enforcement is already increasing in central Ohio. Columbus is experiencing increased ICE activity following December’s Operation Buckeye, with more than 280 detentions reported in central Ohio.
Nearby in Springfield, residents and community members have faced numerous bomb threats as the city — which is home to 10,000-15,000 Haitian immigrants — braces for the potential of an ICE surge if Haitians were to lose Temporary Protected Status.
While the TPS designation for people from the Caribbean island country was scheduled to end 11:59 p.m. Feb. 3, a federal district judge issued a ruling blocking the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from terminating TPS. U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, D.C., later rejected the federal government’s request for a stay on her order that stopped Haiti from losing TPS.
Rumor about police interaction spreads
Beth Holten, of Kettering, spoke about rumors regarding police interactions between immigrants and the Kettering Police Department, alleging a Latino person had been arrested on obstruction charges after asking for an interpreter. Holten said she heard the rumor from two local advocacy groups.
There have been no recent incidents similar to that rumor, according to the Kettering Police Department, but a spokesperson said an incident occurred in December where a woman lied to police about her identity during a traffic stop.
After being stopped for expired tags, the woman proceeded to lie repeatedly to officers about her name and who she was, during which time she spoke English, the police spokesperson said. The stop was prolonged for 30 minutes before police were able to identify her. She was then found to have a warrant out of Dayton, and Kettering police also charged her with falsification and obstructing official business.
Asking for a translator would be a violation of a person’s rights, the Kettering police spokesperson said, as it is not illegal. Kettering police have multiple resources to communicate with non-English speakers, including a Spanish-speaking officer on staff, bilingual officers in neighboring agencies, a 24/7 phone line that officers can use to speak with a translator of any language, and other translation tools.
Resident asks council to oppose state legislation regarding illegal immigration
Holten later asked the city council to oppose publicly a number of bills proposed in the Ohio General Assembly, similar to what the mayor of Akron did in a recent statement.
Akron Mayor Shammas Malik said he is “strongly opposed to any legislation that seeks to involve local law enforcement” in ICE efforts around federal immigration laws, saying it would blur the line between local police and federal immigration enforcement.
Those bills Malik opposed that Holten also asked the Kettering City Council to oppose include:
- House Bill 26, which would require law enforcement agencies in Ohio to take certain actions to cooperate with federal officials in the enforcement of federal immigration law.
- House Bill 42, which would require law enforcement agencies and the departments of Rehabilitation and Correction, Education and Workforce, Job and Family Services, and Medicaid to collect and annually report data to the governor concerning citizenship and immigration status of persons with whom they come into contact.
- House Bill 281, which would require hospitals to permit certain federal and state law enforcement agents and officers to enter the hospital for the purpose of enforcing federal immigration law. Hospitals could face penalties for failing to comply, such as the suspension of Medicaid provider agreements and the loss of grant funding awarded by state agencies.
- Senate Bill 172, which has passed in the Ohio Senate and has been referred to the House Public Safety Committee, would require state and local public offices and public officials to allow the arrest or detention of any person who is, or is suspected of being, unlawfully present in the U.S. for the person’s removal (deportation) or for other immigration-related purposes or proceedings, and it would also allow these arrests or detentions to happen anywhere in Ohio under most circumstances.
Residents’ concerns of federal immigration enforcement included apprehensions over how it could impact American citizens.
“Not only are the immigrants in danger, ICE profiles people, American citizens, that look like possible immigrants,” said Gary Ross, of Kettering.
Reports of federal agents targeting American citizens and people with lawful permanent resident status have emerged out of Minnesota, including when federal immigration agents bashed open a door and detained a U.S. citizen in his Minnesota home at gunpoint without a warrant in January, according to his family and videos reviewed by the Associated Press.
“Are we to stand by if we see an unmarked van pull up with unmarked people in masks getting out and ripping a child and mother away?” Ross said. “What’s the police response going to be, and what’s going to happen to us when we step in and help?”
Police interactions with immigrants
When asked following the recent city council meeting, a Kettering Police Department spokesperson said the department does not do any targeted enforcement of immigration laws, but there are some instances in which police may contact ICE if officers come into contact with someone who is unlawfully in the country.
If someone who is unlawfully in the country is arrested by police on local charges, law enforcement has to call ICE to notify the department of the arrest, at which time ICE will typically place a warrant on the person. Once the person is finished being processed for the local charges, they are transferred over to ICE.
If someone with whom police come into contact already has an ICE warrant placed on them, police will arrest the person on the warrant and will transfer the person over to ICE.
If there is no legal action being taken by Kettering police and the person doesn’t have an ICE warrant, they are released without incident, according to the Kettering Police Department.
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