Ohio woman allegedly crashes with two Somalian women as ICE detains more than 200 in Buckeye State

A woman in Columbus, Ohio, allegedly got into a car crash, with the other party that left the scene allegedly turning out to be two Somalian women who didn’t have insurance.

“Now, the people who hit my car are telling the police that I hit them. The police, of course, don’t believe them,” she said while recording the interaction of two women with the police officers. “They do not have insurance because they are from Somalia and are planning to go back to Somalia.”

At the end of the video, the woman said she was not sure whether “any of that is even true.”

Woman in Columbus, Ohio, was in a car crash where the other party fled the scene. When the police tracked down the other party, she learned they were Somalian and had no insurance.

“Now the people that hit my car are telling the police that I hit them. The police of course… pic.twitter.com/4XEBbBZibM

— ICE of TikTok (@ICEofTikTok) December 28, 2025

The recent news came after the Cleveland-based Ohio Immigrant Alliance, the group that represents immigrants in Ohio, wrote in a Dec. 24 report that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained at least 214 people in the Columbus area between Dec. 17 and Dec. 23 as a result of its Operation Buckeye.

According to the report, 80% of the detainees were Latino, and more than 93% male.

The group allegedly obtained these results by surveying intake and booking data for inmates in jails in Butler, Genoa, Hamilton, and Mahoning counties; the Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio in Williams County; and the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center in Youngstown.

Ohio Immigrant Alliance’s Executive Director Lynn Tramonte, however, told The Columbus Dispatch that ICE began filling immigration jails with immigrants during the holidays. According to her, there aren’t enough judges to preside over the cases.

“It’s scary because they’ve got all these people that have to appear before judges. But the courts are full, and the government’s been firing judges based on (political) ideology,” Tramonte said. “All of this is being done for shock and awe. They’re saying, ‘Let’s make this big assault on Columbus the week before Christmas.’”

She also said that it is “like a coercion tactic,” adding that they do this in hopes that the immigrants will “just leave” the country.

ICE announced Operation Buckeye in its Dec. 20 press release.

Some Columbus officials, among whom was Columbus City Mayor Andrew Ginther, supported immigrants targeted by ICE, reassuring them that they would help them stay in the country.

“Columbus is proud to be a welcoming city. As federal immigration enforcement operations take place in our community, we want our immigrant neighbors to know you matter,” he said. “You contribute to our economy, our culture, and the vibrancy of our city. We have your back, today and always.”

Many officials in Donald Trump’s administration, Republicans, and pro-immigration Americans criticized the officials.