Ohio's Immigration Law Under Fire From Both Sides
(June 23, 2011)

CINCINNATI — Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones has sent a letter to Gov. John Kasich urging him to pass a tough immigration policy, similar to the laws they have in Arizona.

But a group of more than a dozen religous leaders, also from southwest Ohio, believes that state laws need to be crafted to welcome and support immigrants.

They are pushing for a "fair and equitable" immigration policy, reported ONN's Lot Tan on Thursday.

"Parishes have dealt with undocumented parents, who after being cited by local officials for a minor infractions of the law, have been torn apart from their families and deported to countries where their children can't follow," said Rev. Dennis Schnurr, Archdiocese of Cincinnati...[Full Article]

137 Illegal Aliens Caught In Statewide Sting (Cincinnati, Ohio - May 4, 2010)

Officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 137 criminal aliens and fugitives in central and southern Ohio over a four-day period ending late Monday. The operation targeted foreign-born criminals and fugitives in violation of immigration laws.

The arrests were made in the Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati metro areas.

ICE's Operation Cross Check targets cases involving immigration violators who pose a threat to national security and community safety. ICE was assisted in the operation by the officers from the following agencies: Columbus Police Department, Franklin County Sheriff, Butler County Sheriff, Morrow County Sheriff, Hamilton Police Department, Mt. Vernon Police Department, Beavercreek Police Department, and Union Township Police Department.

All 137 arrested were either fugitives, re-entered after having been previously removed, or have been convicted of other crimes in the U.S. Because of their serious criminal histories and prior immigration arrest records, at least 25 of those arrested during the enforcement surge face federal prosecution. A conviction for felony reentry carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison...

[Full Article]

Immigration Suit Against Sheriff Settled For $100K (Cincinnati, Ohio - April 21, 2010)

CINCINNATI — An undocumented immigrant worker who sued Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones for violating his constitutional rights has been awarded $100,000 in a settlement agreement.

The settlement filed in U.S. District Court stems from the 2007 arrest of Luis Rodriguez, 44, formerly of Lebanon, when he and others were rounded by at a Port Union Road construction site by Butler County deputies and a former immigration specialist hired by Jones.

Officials said they were at the site to talk to a supervisor about undocumented workers, but Rodriguez and more than 20 others were interrogated and asked to provide identification, according to Rodriguez’s attorney, Al Gerhardstein, who posted the settlement Tuesday, April 20 on his firm’s website.

Gerhardstein said his client, who had lived in Butler County for 11 years, was arrested and charged with providing a false identification and deported to Mexico, though he was later acquitted of the charge...

Three Guilty of Hiring Illegal Immigrants (Cincinnati, Ohio - January 20, 2010)

Three Cincinnati construction contractors face up to five years in prison after pleading guilty this week to tax charges related to the hiring of illegal immigrants.

Federal prosecutors say all three men tried to conceal payments to illegal immigrants by writing checks for large amounts of money to a handful of employees, who then gave the cash back to the contractors so they could pay dozens of workers off the books...

Arrests Take $168K in Heroin Off Streets (Cincinnati, Ohio - July 28, 2009)
Butler County sheriff’s deputies and members of the Cincinnati Police Department’s central vice control section took some $168,000 worth of heroin off the streets in Greater Cincinnati in two separate arrests, police announced Tuesday...

Krispy Kreme Fined for Hiring Illegal Workers (Cincinnati, Ohio - July 7, 2009)
...The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, or ICE, said an inspection revealed the company had employed dozens of unauthorized workers at a doughnut factory in Cincinnati, Ohio...

Fake Marriage Ring Designed to Exploit Immigration Laws Flourished in Ohio (Cincinnati, Ohio - July 5, 2009)
...Federal authorities in Cincinnati say the couples were part of a massive marriage fraud scheme that involved hundreds of immigrants who sought and were sometimes granted legal residence in the United States through phony marriages to citizens...