Since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term and his administration’s heightened campaign to capture and deport undocumented immigrants, an Oberlin community organization has expanded their efforts to support immigrants in the face of increased enforcement. Oberlin Community Supporting Immigrants has been building a rapid response network to protect local residents from immigration enforcement. The organization runs a hotline that community members can call to report immigration enforcement operations, and OCSI will send trained volunteers to document the event.
The Oberlin community has a long history of supporting immigrants. The First Church in Oberlin congregation took part in the Sanctuary Movement, which provided haven for Central American refugees beginning in the 1980s. Since 2009, Oberlin has been a sanctuary city, meaning Oberlin police will not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement operations unless required by law. This status was reaffirmed by City Council in 2017.
OCSI Vice Chair Steven Volk said this history of community organizing led to the creation of the 501c(3) nonprofit organization in 2021. According to its website, OCSI is dedicated to helping immigrants access basic services such as housing, groceries, medical and dental care, and legal help. They also connect immigrants with English-language instructors, help immigrant children enroll in schools, and educate the community on topics related to immigration. The creation of the hotline and rapid response network is a new initiative since the start of Trump’s second term.
College second-year Jackie Shugert, who volunteers with OCSI, explained how the rapid response network operates.
“When we learn of ICE activity through the hotline, OCSI attempts to verify the information and, if accurate, mobilizes our network of trained volunteers to document the raid and offer any support we can to the affected immigrants and their families,” Shugert said.
Volk said that responders will not disrupt or impede immigration enforcement as that would be illegal, but they will gather information that will be vital for supporting detained people. Volunteers aim to get the name of the person detained, find out where they are being taken, and get their A-number — a registration number assigned to non-citizens. This number will help OCSI keep track of where detained people are being held. OCSI also seeks contact information to communicate with families of detained people.
Volk said that while small towns like Oberlin will likely not have to worry about the presence of the National Guard or militarized federal agents like big cities, immigration response networks in these rural areas face their own challenges and limitations.
“This is very different from what happens in Chicago or Los Angeles or Portland,” Volk said. “In the smaller communities when they organize after immigration enforcement events, they often can’t provide enough support to encourage a judge to release the detained individual on bond. And once you’re released on bond, you have a fair chance with legal support of pursuing your case and remaining out of detention and [avoiding] deportation.”
Volk said that there have been no immigration enforcement operations in Oberlin; however, he said that in late October, over 50 workers were detained by immigration enforcement officers at an agricultural facility outside of town. Volk said OCSI only heard about the operation after it occurred, and the organization is currently seeking information on the detained people. He said that the information they had so far indicated the detained people were not local to the area. The Review investigated and was unable to confirm that the operation occurred or any additional information about it.
ICE and Customs and Border Patrol are active in Lorain County and across Northeast Ohio. In early October, a business owner was detained in Lorain after being pulled over for a minor traffic violation. While the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office does not have an official agreement with ICE, the County has been known to support immigration enforcement. In May, the County’s name appeared on the Department of Homeland Security’s list of sanctuary jurisdictions. However, the County Commission responded by approving a resolution clarifying that the County was not a sanctuary jurisdiction, and it was quickly removed from the list. On June 3, Sheriff Jack Hall, a Republican, said that his office had assisted in the deportation of over 20 undocumented immigrants this year.
Given that Lorain County is within the 100-mile border zone defined by the Customs and Border Patrol, officers from agency are more active and given greater powers than in other regions of the country. Volk said that CBP is active daily on Ohio Route 10 leaving Oberlin toward Cleveland.
Immigration enforcement is not a new thing in the region. OCSI board member and Professor of Comparative American Studies Gina Pérez recalled that in 2018, 114 undocumented immigrants were detained at a Garden Center in Sandusky. However, Pérez acknowledged the present moment is exceptional.
“What sets this moment apart in my mind are the ways immigration enforcement is operating that illuminate how everyone, regardless of immigration status, are living through a moment where our constitutional rights are being eroded, ignored, and undermined,” Pérez wrote in an email to the Review. “This has galvanized people to come together to learn how to prepare and respond to what is happening around us. So while there is great uncertainty, rage, and fear, there is also educated and angry hope that brings people together to affirm our commitment not just to immigrants and newcomers, but to all residents in our community in Oberlin.”
