Recent detentions of Greater Cincinnati immigrants involved in the U.S. asylum system have made national headlines. But the high-profile cases of people like Emerson Colindres and Ayman Soliman aren't the only ones playing out locally.
In recent years, hundreds of people fled the west African country of Mauritania for Lockland and surrounding communities. Cincinnati and Columbus have the largest concentrations of Mauritanian people in the U.S.
Now, some are being detained as they appear for routine immigration hearings or check-ins. That's sparked anxiety.
Khaladou Sy was a civil rights activist in Mauritania who says he fled the country to escape political persecution.
He settled in Lockland almost two years ago, got his work authorization, and found a good job making electronic components. He spends his time with his wife taking care of their two children and volunteering a couple times a month at a nearby food pantry.
He'll be making a trip up to Cleveland for his next check-in with immigration authorities soon. And he wonders what will happen. A good friend from Mauritania who also made the journey to Lockland was detained at a similar appointment a few weeks ago, he says.
"He went to check in, and he never came back," Sy says. "So you have a lot of folks who live in constant fear."
A 'tone shift'
Scott Hicks has been an immigration attorney in Southwestern Ohio for three decades. He's represented many asylum seekers like Sy from Mauritania and neighboring Senegal. He says there's been a definite "tone shift" in immigration courts since Trump took office in January and began doubling down on immigration enforcement.
Judges are quicker to dismiss asylum claims now, Hicks says, due to instructions from the Trump administration to speed up immigration proceedings. And when they do, ICE is often waiting outside the courtroom to detain asylum seekers immediately.
"People are going to their hearings, as they're supposed to, and they're finding themselves in jail cells," he says. "That I think has really spiked the fear."
Last year, immigration judges granted about 30% of asylum claims from people from Mauritania. That's higher than neighboring Senegal (23%), on par with Honduras and lower than Guatemala (38%), all places local asylum seekers also hail from.
Data about ICE detentions and removals obtained by the Deportation Data Project suggests ICE detained 155 Mauritanian immigrants between the beginning of President Donald Trump's second term in January and the end of June. Locally, some end up held in Butler County Jail. Others go to facilities across the country, sometimes via multiple transfers. About 130 of those people have been removed from the country, according to the data.
The Trump administration says the Department of Homeland Security and ICE are removing dangerous criminals from the U.S.
What the data shows
But data seems to suggest otherwise. The records obtained by the Deportation Data Project show only 10 of the Mauritanians deported so far this year had criminal convictions and another eight had pending non-immigration charges.
WVXU reached out to ICE with questions about detentions but has not received a response
Human rights groups say Mauritania's minority Arab government discriminates heavily against its Black citizens. The United Nations reports that slavery, while officially outlawed decades ago, is still practiced in many of the country's remote rural areas. Sy says he was arrested and beaten on multiple occasions while in Mauritania and took to moving constantly to avoid being arrested again.
If he goes back, he's sure the government won't let him be, especially given its current political climate. He says he's heard the government is cracking down on dissent, especially after opposition parties made gains in last year's election there.
"It means maybe prison for eternity, it may be death," he says of returning to his home country. "You don't know, especially right now in Mauritania. Since we left, it's gotten worse. You have no freedom to say anything. A loudmouth like me — you just don't know. Right now, though, I'm seeking asylum. I've applied. It's in the hands of the American government."
Sy says he'll accept the outcome of his asylum case. But he wants to stay together with his wife and two children and hopes if they can't stay in the U.S., they can at least all leave at the same time. His youngest child was born here and is a U.S. citizen, making the situation especially complicated.
"That's the hardest part," he says. "If they deport me and she stays behind... that's the big no-no. We don't know how to swallow that pill."
The prospect of immediate detention if a case is dismissed puts asylum seekers in a tough situation, Hicks says. But he adds that he's telling his clients they need to go anyway.
"That particular policy has driven the fear," he says. "And remarkably, they still go."
If a person's case isn't dismissed, they'll likely be able to walk away from the hearing and continue seeking asylum, Hicks says. ICE seems to be otherwise focusing on people who miss hearings or encounter law enforcement in some way, he says.
Sy, too, says most of the people he knows plan on going to their hearings. He says he's optimistic that he and his family will be able to handle what happens.
"Just keep doing the right thing, checking in," he says. "Sometimes you check in and they let you go and give you another appointment. Sometimes you check in and they keep you."
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