Pastors and residents ask Butler County commissioners to review ICE detention practices at county jail

Multiple public speakers at the May 28 Butler County commissioners meeting urged the board to reconsider county cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and to investigate conditions for detainees held at the Butler County Jail under ICE custody.

Pastor Caleb Crockt of West Charleston Church of the Brethren in Tipp City told the commissioners that one congregant, identified as Armando Reyes, was detained after entering the United States with ICE permission and complying with monitoring programs. "He's been in Butler County Jail for more than a month, having entered the country with permission and having no criminal record whatsoever," Crockt said. He urged the commissioners to "choose not to cooperate with deportation efforts" that he said separate families.

John Wagner, a Middletown pastor, described a separate case his congregation experienced and said aggressive immigration enforcement harms community trust in police and public safety, discouraging victims and witnesses from reporting crimes. Retired United Methodist pastor Larry Kreps recounted prior cooperative arrests involving ICE and said churches had provided sanctuary and legal support in the past; he asked the commissioners to "keep an eye on things" to prevent wrongful treatment.

Rachel Faulkner, a resident of Green Hills representing advocacy concerns summarized by the Ohio Immigrant Alliance, asked the board to investigate reports of a recent suicide attempt involving a person detained in the part of the jail used by ICE and to make information public so families and communities could respond. Faulkner said renewing the county's contract with ICE while litigation over alleged abuses is pending appears to her to contribute to "a state of terror" among immigrant communities.

Board response and context: Commissioners acknowledged the public comments and thanked speakers for their remarks. The transcript records public testimony and requests for investigation but does not record a motion, directive or formal board vote to open an inquiry or change existing detention or contract arrangements during the meeting. A commissioner noted the county previously faced litigation related to detention practices and emphasized that the panel is monitoring matters raised by residents.

Speakers sought transparency about detainee conditions, a public accounting of incidents in the facility and consideration of policy changes that could reduce fear of reporting crime among immigrant communities in Butler County.