“I think everybody’s afraid for their safety at this point. But I think authoritarian governments like this thrive on fear, so we just have to keep showing up.”
Erin Elliot was among the people marching through Over-the-Rhine after a demonstration outside the Hamilton County Courthouse Friday night. It was part of a national day of action to protest an immigration enforcement initiative.
@cincinnatipublicradio Demonstrators march in #Cincinnati as part of the nationwide #iceout ♬ original sound - Cincinnati Public Radio
Businesses were encouraged to close, employees to stay home and shoppers discouraged from shopping as part of the action.
“I think it’s a great show of solidarity with the people of Minnesota,” Elliot said. “Not to mention standing up for the fact that ICE does need to be defunded. We don’t need a secret police policing the streets.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents have been targeting Minneapolis, and are blamed for the deaths of two civilians this month: Renee Goode and, last weekend, Alex Pretti.
Eyes on Ohio
A history teacher at Cincinnati Public Schools, Kevin Kowal, spoke before the march on the steps of the courthouse. “(President) Trump is going city by city and I can promise you he’s gonna be here in Cincinnati with ICE at some point, considering (Vice President JD) Vance is in this area,” he said.
Many people believe the next target of ICE enforcement will be in Springfield, Ohio, which has a large Haitian population, many on Temporary Protected Status. Homeland Security is expected to let Temporary Protected Status for those refugees expire Tuesday.
“If we don’t stand up and fight back, we will be just as likely to be killed,” Kowal said. “We have seen what ICE agents are capable of, and they are already killing people that they have no jurisdiction to touch.”
Stel Huffman with the Party for Socialism and Liberation also expects ICE to conduct sweeps in Springfield, calling it a “30-day invasion focusing on Haitian immigrants.”
“If you believe the end of this terror can wait for an election, you need to look deeper within yourself and find your true humanity,” he said. “It is happening to your neighbors now, but what if it was happening to your children, your parents, your siblings, your loved ones?”
Huffman says local activists are preparing for ICE enforcement in Cincinnati, with training for observing agents, and documenting arrests.
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