More than 100 people gathered outside the Butler County Jail Tuesday evening for a vigil expressing support for immigrants awaiting deportation there.
The event was organized by advocacy groups Ignite Peace, the Ola Immigrant Welcome Center and Undivided. It featured prayers from faith leaders, songs and remarks from advocates for immigrants.
Longtime faith and community leader Arturo Minera said the vigil was about sending a positive message to those inside the jail.
I just want to make sure at the top we clarify what this is not, he said. We're not here with pitchforks. We're not here to protest. We're here because we have brothers and sisters we hope hear us tonight.
One of the people inside the jail on an immigration hold is Alonzo Tomas Mendez. ICE agents detained Mendez and others outside the East Price Hill Kroger May 31. Advocates say the father of two from Guatemala should be released on bond as court proceedings around his immigration status continue.
Ola Immigrant Welcome Center's Walter Vasquez works in Price Hill. He says raids like the ones that swept up Mendez have caused fear in the community.
We have a lot of kids who have been born here and are being raised here who are afraid for the sake of their parents, he said. They are afraid that if they go to work they might not come back.
Attendees held signs reading free Alonzo, love knows no borders, Jesus was an immigrant and similar messages. As dusk set in, organizers passed around battery-powered candles.
It's the third event organizers have held outside the jail. Previous demonstrations protested the detainment of 19-year-old Emerson Colindres, a recent Cincinnati Public Schools graduate who ICE arrested during a routine check-in. Colindres and his family came to the U.S. from Honduras and applied for asylum, but their application was rejected. Colindres
A spokesperson for Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones said the sheriff supports First Amendment rights and welcomed peaceful protest.
The sheriff's office has a contract with ICE to hold detainees. The spokesperson said there are currently 423 people on immigration holds in the jail. Jones recently announced that 10 deputies with his office also have ICE credentials to make immigration arrests and otherwise aid the agency.
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