Demonstrators stood in front of the Geauga County Safety Center on April 12 to rally against the detention of immigrants in the jail and nationwide, marking three months of protest at the facility.
Demonstrators stood in front of the Geauga County Safety Center on April 12 to rally against the detention of immigrants in the jail and nationwide, marking three months of protest at the facility.
About 30 demonstrators of all ages trickled in across an hour of speeches and chants, many carrying homemade signs.
Previous protests have attracted 50 to 100 demonstrators despite the distance from Cleveland and Akron, said Sean Sullivan, an organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation.
“We know that anyone that was taken from Cleveland and Akron has been detained here, so it seemed imperative that we go to this (jail) because our community members are being detained here,” Sullivan said.
PSL, which organizes the monthly protests in collaboration with Like Minded in Lake County, seeks the release of ICE (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement) detainees, both state and nationwide, Sullivan said.
“Not just the immigrant detainees, but also the students who have been detained, like Mahmoud Khalil, Rumeysa Ozturk and others,” they said. “Our major goal is just standing up against the fascist, racist rhetoric of the Trump administration, to show people that we are going to be out here no matter the weather to stand up for our community members.”
Mahmoud Khalil is a Columbia University graduate student — and permanent U.S. resident on a green card — who an immigration judge recently ruled in favor of deporting as a national security risk, according to the Associated Press. Khalil was at the center of Columbia’s pro-Palestinian protests.
Ozturk, a doctoral student from Turkey at Tufts University and another pro-Palestenian voice, was detained by plain-clothes immigration officials March 25, according to the AP. Ozturk has stated her requests to speak to a lawyer were denied and she was not given a reason for her arrest.
“They are literally grabbed off the street. They’re denied talking to any type of lawyers, especially with the student protests. I think it took Mahmoud’s lawyer over a week to be able to talk to him,” Sullivan said.
There are currently 37 ICE detainees held at the Geauga jail, Geauga Sheriff Scott Hildenbrand said in a phone interview April 12.
While a large number of ICE detainees were brought to the jail in January, that event was an anomaly, he said.
“They’re being held in good conditions,” he said, adding ICE inspects the jail three to four times a year and has higher standards than the state of Ohio in some aspects.
“They’re well-kept, they’re well-fed, there is medical attention. It’s about as good as it’s gonna get,” he said.
The county has received roughly $1.2 million in the past year for housing ICE detainees, he said. In a January interview, the sheriff stated ICE pays $100 per detainee per day.
Geauga detainees are provided the information they need in whatever language they speak, he said, adding the jail has a set-up for video conferencing with judges and attorneys.
National Issues, Local Concerns
In March, the Alien Enemies Act was used to deport Venezuelan migrants accused of being gang members to an El Salvadoran prison. Per the AP, the deported men did not get a chance to challenge the order and many have attorneys arguing there is no evidence they are gang members.
“No due process. No charges except for being an immigrant,” said Sullivan, speaking generally.
The United States is a nation of immigrants, they added.
“To demonize people coming over here to seek a better life feels incredibly hypocritical. And the U.S. wars abroad, through destabilizing Central and South America in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, is a direct cause of the supposed immigration crisis we have now,” Sullivan said.
Fellow demonstrator John Bell likened what’s happening today in America to a different era.
“What we’re seeing is literally a play-for-play repeat of what happened in Nazi Germany,” Bell said. “Someone needs to speak out.”
A similar sentiment was expressed by Marilyn, who came out from Fairport Harbor to protest, and asked to be referred to by first name only.
“The immigrants in our community are the fabric of our community. They are important to us and whether they’re here undocumented or not, we consider them as important as anyone else,” she said. “No human is illegal.”
Marilyn carried a sign calling for the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man legally working in the U.S. who was deported to an El Salvador prison.
ABC reported Friday Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign was unable to provide information as to Garcia’s whereabouts when pressed by the federal judge overseeing his case.
“This is facism. This is not our country,” Marilyn said. “This is not my America and I refuse to be part of it.”
Ohio Universities Also Affected
In between speeches on the nature of the arrests and deportations, protesters banged drums and chanted anti-ICE intonations and messages of unity in both English and Spanish.
Jenelle Vincent, a speaker with the PSL, called it crucial for demonstrators to keep showing up.
International students are facing visa revocations for minor infractions, organizing for Palestine, or unknown reasons, she said.
Extreme measures are becoming the rule, not the exception, she added.
“Kent State University, Walsh University, Akron University, Ohio State University, all came out with statements in the last week saying they have had international students whose visas have been terminated,” she said.
Three KSU graduates with post-grad work permits, one KSU student, four WU students, two UA students and 11 OSU students have had visas revoked.
President Donald Trump is “pushing” these policies to see how far he can go and he is starting with university students, the heart of the resistance, Vincent said.
In Geauga, Hildenbrand said he was unaware whether any of the detainees are international students, or where they originate from.
The sheriff’s department cannot release the names of ICE detainees per their contract with ICE, he said.
Hildenbrand expressed confusion regarding the protests.
“I don’t understand why all of a sudden it’s an issue for them,” he said. “We’ve been housing ICE inmates for over 20 years.”
The protestors have stayed within the area secured for them and have not violated the security of the jail, he said.
“They’re welcome to do that whenever they want,” he said. “It’s nice that they let us know ahead of time.”
