Only 5% With Violent Offenses
Courtesy of Lynn Tremonte, Ohio Immigrant Alliance
May 16, 2026: The Ohio Immigrant Alliance released the first and only statewide analysis of immigration detention in Ohio during the first fifteen months of the second Trump administration.
According to “Ohio Immigration and Customs Enforcement Activity Report (January 2025 – March 2026),” ICE detention capacity in Ohio soared more than 1,000 percent during the first months of President Trump’s second term. The number of ICE contracted jails in Ohio grew from two at the end of 2024 to six by the end of 2025. The statewide average daily detained population rose from 117 in 2024 to roughly 656 in 2025.
All told, 7,756 people were detained for ICE in Ohio between January 2025 and March 2026, and 91 percent were men. Fewer than 5 percent of individuals arrested and detained for ICE in Ohio had been convicted of a violent offense, using National Crime Information Center classifications. Despite claims from the federal government, immigration enforcement in Ohio has overwhelmingly targeted people without serious criminal histories.
Said John Drury, the researcher who wrote this report for OIA, “The federal government has framed this buildup as a public safety operation, but the data tell a different story. Only five percent had violent criminal convictions. The scale and composition of this system cannot be reconciled with the stated justification for its existence.”
Three out of four detained individuals had been held in two or more facilities throughout their stays. The single most common journey, taken by 535 people, went from the Butler County Jail in Hamilton, Ohio to the Alexandria Staging Facility in Louisiana, a transfer that severs contact with family members and legal counsel.
A coordinated December 2025 enforcement operation in the Columbus area produced 238 arrests in six days, more than eleven times the region’s weekly arrest volume. Ninety-five percent of those arrested had no serious criminal conviction on record.
ICE paid Ohio’s six facilities more than $13.2 million in tax dollars in 2025, with an additional $500,000 in transportation fees. When the cost of out-of-state detention is included, the total estimated direct cost of detaining the individuals in this report rises to approximately $35.2 million, and even that figure excludes transportation between facilities, legal processing, and removal costs.
While this report focuses exclusively on detention centers located in Ohio, Ohioans are also incarcerated for ICE in other jails across the country, most notably in Michigan and Kentucky. “Ohio Immigration and Customs Enforcement Activity Report” does not capture the full impact of immigration enforcement on Ohio residents and their families, but it paints an important picture based on the six facilities in Ohio alone.
County jails and private corporations treat the expansion of civil immigration detention as a moneymaker, but families, individuals, businesses, and communities suffer. Being detained takes a breadwinner out of the family, and creates additional costs for families, businesses, and governments. It also makes it harder for an individual to compile evidence, obtain a lawyer, and defend his case in immigration court — which may actually be the point, when you consider the Trump administration’s overall immigration policy.
Incarcerating someone for a civil violation is an extreme enforcement choice. Far more humane alternatives are available and completely effective at ensuring immigrants’ appearance in court.
Links to reports and research are available at https://ohioimmigrant.org/blog/ice-activity-report-2026
TOOLKIT Interfaith Vigils to End ICE Jail in Ohio
From Lynn Tramonte: Ohio Immigration Alliance
May 23-30 Week of Action Working with immigrants, we ended two ICE contracts with Ohio county jails in the first Trump administration. We’re going to do it again. Starting May 23 and ending May 30, communities across Ohio are coming together for a statewide week of interfaith vigils in solidarity with people in civil immigration detention (a.k.a. ICE jail). Faith leaders, organizers, and community members will raise their voices, hold space for reflection, and stand in collective action. Vigils may include interfaith prayers, brief speaking programs, and peaceful reflection with signs and candles. Other event types are welcome. Attend an event near you, or organize one in your area to be part of this statewide effort! We will have vigils/events outside each of Ohio’s six immigration jails: the Seneca, Geauga, Mahoning, and Butler County Jails; Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio (CCNO), and Northeast Ohio Correctional Center. You can also organize vigils or events in other areas. Email hotline@ohioimmigrant.org to add your event to the statewide.