Unsubstantiated rumors are spreading on social media that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is operating in Franklin County, causing nervousness and fear to spread in immigrant communities.
Posts on Central Ohio social media sites and forums like Reddit report seeing ICE at local gas stations and international grocery stores. Some posts in Facebook groups in the state have told residents to "Report Illegal Aliens" including one in a Harrison, Ohio Facebook group called "Harrison Happenings" that included ICE's phone number for its tip line.
Columbus officials tell WOSU the rumors have not been substantiated. ICE and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have not responded to questions about what they're planning, leading to uncertainty.
The Franklin County Sheriff said six people are being held in the Franklin County Jail with detainers requests submitted from ICE, but five of them were arrested because of crimes unrelated to their immigration status. Adalberto Calixto Tolentino is being held in the jail on federal charges for "bringing in and harboring certain aliens."
The sheriff's department confirmed the man was arrested on I-70 on Friday, but has not yet sent any arrest report. It's not clear if ICE was involved in the arrest.
Columbus City Councilmember Lourdes Barroso de Padilla, a daughter of Cuban immigrants, said migrant and refugee communities are nervous because of deportations promised by President Donald Trump. She said the rumors spreading on social media are not helping.
"Folks are nervous. Right? They're nervous about their personal safety. They're nervous for their families. They're nervous about what this means," Barroso de Padilla said. "I think that the rhetoric that follows allegations like this, also insights that fear in people because they're worried about what might happen, what might come"
So far, Barroso de Padilla said she has not heard confirmed reports of ICE operating in Columbus. The Franklin County Sheriff and Columbus Division of Police have said they've received no requests to assist ICE.
The Associated Press reported ICE has started arresting people in Newark, NJ. Trump issued an executive order aimed at allowing the agency to make arrests in school and churches.
Barroso de Padilla said posts that tell people to contact ICE and report people are harmful and could lead to misidentification of people solely based on their name, their ethnicity or what language they speak.
"If you look at people who are different than you and you're questioning their documentation status... why could that not be me? Why couldn't that not be someone who looks Latina, walking down the street with a name like Lourdes Barroso de Padilla? And so that's what causes disruption and distrust and fear in communities," Barroso de Padilla said.
She called that rhetoric dangerous and said it will target anyone from legal citizens, to people with refugee status and green card holders.
"It is it is not constructive for a community. That's not how we're good neighbors. That's not how we're being good humans," Barroso de Padilla said.
Barroso de Padilla helped establish Columbus's new Immigrant and Refugee Affairs Commission, which is set to launch this year with the goal of reviewing existing city policies to see how they can be improved to help the lives of immigrants and refugees.
Columbus is home to large immigrant and refugee populations from countries like India, Mexico and Somalia.
The Columbus Division of Police and Franklin County Sheriff have policies that can put them at odds with ICE's immigration enforcement. This could eventually put them at odds with the federal government as Trump's executive orders cracking down on so-called "Sanctuary Cities" go into effect.
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther told WOSU he also has not heard any confirmed reports of ICE.
"No, not here in the city of Columbus. But as you know, I'm president of the US Conference of Mayors. And so I have had or heard from other mayors in other cities. But the (Columbus) Division of Police nor I have heard from anybody in the federal government," Ginther said.
Ginther said immigrants are important to the culture and economy of the city. He said Columbus should remain a welcoming community for all.
"Immigrants and new Americans are a huge contributor to our local, state and national economy. We know that there's a disproportionate amount of entrepreneurs that come from immigrant new American backgrounds and everything from our health systems to our institutions of higher education to our K-12 educational entities," Ginther said.
Ginther said the city has a proud history with immigrants and new Americans.
