By Colette Cόrdova, 8-28-2026
People are up in arms about the comments that Dr. Amy Acton, Democratic gubernatorial candidate said, about cooperating with ICE and qualified immunity as was reported in Cleveland.com article “Amy Acton says Ohio police should work with ICE, backs qualified immunity” Cleveland.com
https://www.cleveland.com/news/2026/08/amy-acton-says-ohio-police-should-work-with-ice-backs-qualified-immunity.html
The Latin Community and other immigrants, as well as their advocates, and progressives are now, publicly online, talking about not supporting her. Advocate Kathleen Baldoni of Perrysburg Persists said, “How can people in good conscience vote for someone who endorses ICE who turns people in for the color of their skin.” And, Bishop Saroya King of Perrysburg, Ohio stated, “ICE has no standards, no vetting process for ICE Officers- it’s a renegade militia.” It’s been reported that many ICE officers have cruel behavior and do not follow due process. Now they are adding ICE Shock Gloves. Advocate, Lisa Nolan, of Sylvania, Ohio said, “The biggest thing that appalls me is that we are Americans and the way we are treating people. We are throwing people into torture chambers. How dare we do this to people including children. We should all be in agreement-this is a policy question, not a political one, but how we treat people. What kind of life am I going to have, or my children?”
The article above does not sound like the Amy Acton I know. Dr. Acton was sincere when she spoke from her heart to guide us through the COVID pandemic; or, when I saw her in person in July this summer speak with compassion towards the have-nots including funding public education to provide meals for all students; or, when she said “We are not a red state, we are a rigged state” thus wanting to protect voting rights. It follows that Acton would transfer that same compassion to the Latin Community and the current atrocities sanctioned by the current federal government.
The portrayal of Acton in the above article is very alarming. I reached out to Acton’s campaign to get a clarification on her stance on ICE. According to her communications director, Addie Bullock, “Recent reporting on Dr. Acton’s position on ICE has been inaccurate and sensationalized, and we wanted to share the full context of her stance to make her position as clear as possible.”
Additionally, Bullock added, “Recent headlines misrepresent Dr. Acton’s position on ICE. She was asked about ICE in a press conference but did not even say the word “immigration” or mention “ICE” in her answer.” Below is what Acton actually said according to her campaign:
“FACT CHECK: What she actually said: [From ABC News 5 Cleveland]
- “We need to hold anyone who comes to our state to the same standards of professionalism that we expect of our public safety officers, and I will always fight for that,” she said.
- “I was talking about Minneapolis in a moment where, you know, I was saying that we need to hold anyone who comes to our state to the same standards of professionalism that we expect of our public safety officers, and I will always fight for that. People of Ohio deserve to feel safe, and they deserve the professionalism and the training.”
- “We always work with the federal law enforcement, and we will do so — whatever it takes to keep Ohioans safe.”
(Dr. Acton was referencing working hand in hand with federal law enforcement, such as the FBI to keep Ohioans safe.)”
Her communication director, Bulluck also says, “Dr. Acton has been consistent on this issue throughout her campaign and has spoken out many times:
In an interview with Ideastream Public Media in January [2026], Dr. Acton answered, “what role do you think the state or local agencies should play in immigration enforcement”?
Here is her full response:
“If people are here as criminals, if people are here illegally, we need to enforce the laws of this country and the laws of the state of Ohio. But we need to do that lawfully.
Ohioans everywhere I’m going, regardless of party, are heartbroken, they’re afraid, they are horrified (by the shooting of Renee Good by an ICE officer in Minneapolis). They want to see public safety. But they want our communities, our frontline responders, to be well-trained and be good at what they do.
Quite frankly, the Statehouse is not fully funding the local funds (for law enforcement training). As governor, I’m going to be investing in that. But we need (ICE activity) to be lawful and we need a full and transparent investigation (of Good’s death).”
Additionally, Bullock shared posts regarding Acton’s outrage to what happened in Minneapolis regarding ICE’s activity below:
“SOCIAL POSTS:
January 24, 2026:
What we are witnessing in Minnesota is not normal or okay.
______________________________________________________________________________
The Acton campaign, and the public at large, need to be aware of the following landscape in the Latin community:
Many in the Latin Community, regardless of status, are afraid to drive, leave the house, including going to work, in fear of being targeted in their cars for a small infraction such as a taillight out, and ending up in a detention center. School attendance is down in brown communities as parents are afraid to send their children to school for fear of separation.
This anti-immigration is all part of Project 2025 (Trump’s playbook) aimed to reshape American policies and culture which includes a far-right agenda that includes significant changes to immigration and social policies. This includes plans for immigration controls and potential mass deportations. Privatization of federal prisons is a money maker at the expense of the Latin Community and other immigrants.
ICE is doing illegal and unconstitutional activity targeting people of color causing brown people, citizens, naturalized, DACA, and people who are undocumented to live in fear. That is why they are masked as they don’t want to be identified. The Washington Post’s article How ICE is arresting soaring numbers of immigrants with no criminal record, on August 28, 2026, stated, “Trump officials have consistently stated that their goal is to keep Americans safe by targeting enforcement against ‘the worst of the worst’-undocumented immigrants who have committed violent crimes or repeat offenders. The new data however shows that more than half of all the people ICE arrested in July did not have a criminal record….” Analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, Julia Gelatt said, “When Americans think of who they’d like to see ICE focus on, they think of murders and other serious crimes. They do not think about people who broke immigration laws and are otherwise law-abiding.”
The local police should be doing community policing, not federal officers’ work. It also puts a burden on the local budgets and staff. Republican, Sylvania, city councilman for 30 years, Doug Haynam (R), opposes local police working with ICE and put it on the Ballot for this November because Sylvania City Council Chair would not put his initiative on their agenda for a vote. Haynam, an attorney, who wrote the ordinance below said, “The ordinance is a declaration on how we will spend our resources and that we won’t discriminate,” he stated at the meeting on March 2, 2026.
Ordinance NO. 37-2026, “LIMITING THE USE OF CITY RESOURCES FOR FEDERAL IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT, ASSURING EQUAL ACCESS TO CITY SERVICES, BENEFITS, PROGRAMS, OR PROTECTIONS AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.”
(For more information see article in La Prensa, Sylvania Delays Vote Regarding Immigration Enforcement, By Colette Cόrdova, March 8, 2026 https://laprensanewspaper.com/index.php/2026/03/11/sylvania-retrasa-la-votacion-sobre-la-aplicacion-de-la-ley-migratoria/
- ICE was supposed to be picking up felons, but they are picking up anyone who is brown to meet their numbers who have civil violations (e.g., expired visas, taillight out, etc.)
- We do not believe in “qualified immunity” for any police officers. Again, we are asking for due process.
- All the Democratic Governors are opposed to ICE.
- Governor Mike DeWine supported the Haitians.
All we are asking for is due process for citizens and non-citizens as required under the law.
This is no time for cowardice; it is time for all us to stand up for justice and do the right thing.
Democrats need to distinguish themselves in this election cycle and speak up about the contributions immigrants have made to our society through work, entrepreneurship, and taxes for decades.