Rep. Stewart criticizes the recent Columbus City Council’s decision to delay a vote on the Franklin County jail contract over ICE policy

State Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, criticized the Columbus City Council for opposing local law enforcement collaborating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

The Columbus City Council recently delayed a vote on a routine contract with Franklin County for jail services, with the council members questioning Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin’s policy around working with ICE, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

“Let’s be clear about what’s happening: if a county Sheriff arrests an illegal alien for assault, drug dealing, etc., it has long been the policy to cooperate with ICE detainers before turning the criminal loose. Basic stuff, which virtually every Sheriff already did,” Stewart wrote on X.

Stewart added that “blue county politicians” in Ohio are now “pressuring their Sheriffs to release illegal alien criminals back into our communities rather than holding them for ICE so federal law can be enforced.”

“This is performative lawlessness designed to pander to activists at the expense of public safety. And if these Democrats are determined to force this stupid policy on their Sheriffs, we’ll change state law to make cooperating with ICE detainers in county jails mandatory. Enough,” he wrote.

Let’s be clear about what’s happening: if a county Sheriff arrests an illegal alien for assault, drug dealing, etc etc it has long been the policy to cooperate with ICE detainers before turning the criminal loose. Basic stuff, which virtually every Sheriff already did. Now, you… https://t.co/CPYMmkAdlo

— Brian Stewart (@BrianStewartOH) April 14, 2026

Even though it is true that it’s always been the case that the county jails have been cooperating with the federal immigration authorities, immigration attorneys told the Columbus newspaper that the county goes beyond what’s required for the cooperation, going out of its way to alert ICE about apprehended immigrants and holding them inside the facility so that ICE would be able ot pick them up.

The Columbus City Council was supposed to approve its annual contract with Franklin County to house detainees charged by city law enforcement during the April 13 meeting. The contract for up to $2 million was set to be passed on an emergency basis to ensure the timely payment of an outstanding invoice, according to the news source.

Councilmember Emmanuel Remy, chair of the council’s Public Safety Committee, referred the ordinance back to committee, following community concerns, The Dispatch reported.

“At the end of the day, our responsibility is to the residents of this city, and that includes ensuring that every person feels safe interacting with our systems, regardless of where they are born,” he said. “There are still important questions we need answered regarding the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and its policies involving foreign-born residents and notifications to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”

Councilmember Lourdes Barroso de Padilla, who has advocated for other legislation to restrict ICE in Columbus, thanked Remy, saying that this decision is “another opportunity for us to give the Sheriff’s Office yet another opportunity to do the right thing,” according to the news source.

One of the residents, Isaiah St. John, testified at the council’s hearing, opposing the jail’s policy and saying that while “federal agents are hunting our neighbors down like modern-day slave catchers,” Columbus police collaborate with them “just as often” and “do the hunting for them, shipping our neighbors to Donald Trump in a tidy little box with a bow,” The Dispatch reported.

“That box might be shipped by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, but this body can’t plead innocence when it is your council members who are paying the sheriff for this perverse service,” he said during the hearing, urging Columbus not to contract with the jail as long as the Sheriff’s Office works with ICE.

According to “ICE in Ohio,” a report ACLU Ohio published at the end of last month indicated that, out of 88 Ohio counties, at least 14 allegedly cooperated with ICE or the U.S. Marshals Service. Additionally, the report showed that six facilities in these counties allegedly cooperated with ICE to house immigrants so that they would be able to later pick them up.