Columbus City Council will vote Monday evening on a set of laws aimed at curbing Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in the city.
The council wants to ban ICE detention centers in city limits, prevent city employees from working for ICE or Customs and Border Protection as a side gig and prevent ICE enforcement on city property. More ordinances would prevent agencies from entering into agreements with ICE and another to protect schools and daycares from harassment, by making the infraction a first-degree misdemeanor.
A separate resolution would urge federal agencies to provide proof of identification and not wear masks.
The city council's efforts Monday follow several other cities enacting restrictions on immigration enforcement. Columbus was among the cities targeted last year by ICE during Operation Buckeye.
Immigration advocates are appreciative of the city's efforts, but say the real fight is at the federal level. Ohio Immigrant Alliance Executive Director Lynn Tramonte told WOSU the city shouldn't have to be taking matters into its own hands due to a lack of action by the state and federal government.
"The final component is really for, you know, unfortunately for cities and constituents to have to tell the federal government to do their job and pass immigration reform that allows people to obtain a legal permanent residency if they've been here for a long time and are contributing," Tramonte said.
Tramonte was among several advocates who spoke before a city public hearing on the legislation.
Tramonte said ICE is out of control and needs to be reigned in by Congress.
"These issues cannot be solved at the local level, unfortunately, that what the city council has to do today is to just put in basic protections to protect our communities from a violent and out of control agency," Tramonte said.
