Beyond Enforcement: How ICE presence is impacting students of color at Ohio State By Mariam Abaza | Special Projects Lantern TV Producer This story is the first of a two-part series. The second part will be published Friday in Beyond Enforcement: Resources for Students. In September 2025, Amir arrived at the immigration office for his regularly scheduled ICE check-in. In 1996, he legally immigrated to the United States, where he stayed under asylum for the past 30 years. In 2003, his asylum was denied, but he was given the ability to stay in the country under supervision, which he was told would not be stripped unless he was deemed a flight risk or threat to his community. Hours later, his family grew concerned as they waited for him to return home. After a period of frantic silence, they were told he had been detained by ICE and would be held in a facility indefinitely. “My dad has been here paying taxes, taking care of his kids, and taking care of his family,” said his daughter, Fatima. “He has not committed a single crime since he has been here. There was no reason to arrest him at all.” Since his immigration, he has complied with ICE restrictions and has attended all regularly scheduled check-ins, Fatima said. “They allowed him to stay under supervision. That supervision is not supposed to be taken away unless you are a flight risk or you are a threat to your community. My dad was neither of those,” she said. “They decided to arrest him illegally, and they’ve been holding him ever since. He has not been deported. He has not been moved to a different facility. He has been in the same facility for almost, I want to say, almost five months now. It’s a huge waste of time. It’s a huge waste of tax dollars. It is just ridiculous, honestly. Like, that’s the only way I can explain it.” Fatima is an alum of Ohio State and currently works for Wexner Medical Center. Amir and Fatima were granted anonymity in this story due to safety concerns. When her dad was detained, Fatima and her family were forced to fill his shoes as the breadwinner of the household. “He was the one paying all of the bills and taking care of the family. With his arrest, his kids and our mom had to just step up and take over for him. We’ve just been kind of putting all of our own resources together to try to pay our bills and pay the lawyer fees and everything that this situation comes with,” Fatima said. The family was tasked with balancing financial demands and personal feelings as they navigated this challenge, which was conducted without due process, Fatima said. “I don’t think ICE’s practices are fair because they have been illegally detaining multiple people. They’ve been holding people for months on end without deportation or any type of process, attacking people on the streets, and recently killing people as well–citizens of the United States,” Fatima said. “This is completely unfair and completely unwarranted. It should not be happening.” Amir’s story is not unique. ICE arrests have escalated in recent months, both on a national scale and within the Columbus area. In one week, from Dec. 16-21, 2025, ICE detained over 280 people in Central Ohio during Operation Buckeye. According to the Columbus Dispatch, less than 7% of arrestees during Operation Buckeye had a criminal record. In 2025, ICE arrested over 1,400 people in the Columbus area, a 500% increase from the previous year. With rising ICE arrest numbers in Columbus, Ohio State students have experienced ranging emotions, with some fearfully altering their routines to avoid potential danger and others feeling frustrated with the university response. Chris Booker, a university spokesperson, said the university is committed to the wellbeing of students. “It's important to remember that Ohio State welcomes thousands of international students, visitors, faculty, and staff to its campus each year to study, teach, conduct research and improve lives in Ohio and around the world. As always, the safety and well-being of our campus community is our top priority,” Booker said in an email. Breakdown of total amount of ICE arrests in Ohio from the past four years. Data last updated in early March, 2026 Source: U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement via the Deportation Data Project National News Made Local Olivia, a third-year in international studies and Spanish who also was granted anonymity, mainly felt fear and anger when she first heard about ICE’s presence in Columbus. “Obviously, we’ve been hearing about what [ICE] have been doing in other states and how they’re taking people and people are never seen again or they don’t know where they’ve taken them, and even the maltreatment of the people they don’t take–they’re treating them horribly. So it’s definitely a lot of emotions that are very heavy,” Olivia said. Other students felt surprised that ICE was present in Columbus. Andrea Chacon-Ruiz, a third-year in international business and political science, said her first reaction to hearing of ICE’s presence in Columbus was “shock that it’s so close.” “It’s literally right here. I feel like it’s one of those things where you see it on TV and you’re like ‘Oh that’s happening in Minnesota. That’s not happening here,’” she said. “No, it’s quite literally here.” In addition to surprise, some feel upset by Columbus residents’ lack of reaction, though there have been several protests of ICE’s presence. “I’ve seen it around the country, but I never thought it would happen here,” said Genesis Tabora, a second-year in political science and criminology. “I was really disappointed because I’ve always thought Columbus to be a really diverse city, and even though Ohio is more of a conservative state, I thought the people from Columbus wouldn’t stand for that.” Physical Routines Changed As word of ICE’s presence in Columbus spread, multiple students reported changing their routines and taking extra precautions in fear of confrontation, regardless of immigration status. “I am a naturalized citizen, so I always carry a screenshot of my citizenship on my phone,” Olivia said. “It’s hard to have that reality, but you never want anything to happen. You just have to cover your bases, and sometimes even that doesn’t help.” Regardless of citizenship status, people still fear for their safety because of previous ICE reactions, Chacon-Ruiz said. “We’ve seen the amount of brute force that ICE has used, not just against criminals, quote-unquote, that they are targeting, but also against U.S. citizens as well,” Chacon-Ruiz said. “The murders of Alex Peretti and Renee Good, those are just two examples of extreme and unjust force that has been used by immigration and customs enforcement.” University Police watch the crowd of protesters outside the Archie M. Griffin Grand Ballroom on Tuesday as another officer speaks to the crowd. Credit: Daniel Bush | Campus Photo Editor Recent ICE and immigration enforcement actions, including the killing of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, have raised concerns nationally regarding ICE conduct. When asked for an interview to discuss student’s concerns and possible future plans for ICE presence in Columbus, the response was short and incomplete. “Every day, DHS enforces the laws of the nation across the country including in Columbus. We do not discuss future or potential operations,” the Department of Homeland Security said in an email. Additionally, the email included images of multiple arrested individuals in the Columbus area labeled as illegal aliens and public safety threats. There is still fear and confusion surrounding ICE and DHS activities, especially in Columbus, Tabora said. “I definitely feel less safe than I did before,” Tabora said. “I mean, they’ve shot a white American. How am I, as a brown Latina immigrant, supposed to feel safe moving around Columbus when I know they’re just racially profiling people who look and speak like me?” In addition to citizenship status, some students carry around passports and alternate documentation in case of confrontation. “My family, specifically my dad, has really wanted to be cautious about what is going on with ICE so we have a copy of our passport in our car, whenever we go out. My mom also has pictures of her and my dad’s important papers on her phone just in case she were to be questioned by somebody. We’ve also had family discussions about what we would do if confronted by ICE,” Chacon-Ruiz said. Students are adjusting day-to-day functions, including shopping and driving, to avoid law enforcement interaction. “Even in daily life, now, I feel like I have to be more aware of where I’m going, especially once you get into off-campus area or around it,” Olivia said. “They’ve been in a lot of places where you just typically go that you don’t really think about. It’s starting to be like ‘Let me look at where people have been seeing them and if they’re around here.’” This has negatively impacted many immigrant-owned businesses in Columbus and across the nation, which have seen less frequent business as ICE presence rises. “People are scared to go places. You see people at less and less of these places [Hispanic-owned businesses] because they’re scared to go outside because what advice is there? That unfortunately will affect small businesses and people’s wellbeing, so I feel like that’s one of the bigger tolls it will take on the community,” Olivia said. Some students are also choosing to forgo celebratory occasions for safety concerns. “I’ve seen posts on Reddit for fall graduation. I know some people who were international students decided not to go to their graduation in fear of ICE presence. So that’s definitely a change in the atmosphere here at Ohio State,” Chacon-Ruiz said. ICE presence has impacted how safe students feel on campus, even those with citizenship. “My immediate reaction is I would hope to say no [to feeling unsafe] because I am a U.S. citizen and I have every right to be here, but with how things are going, it’s very scary,” Lola Espinoza, a first-year in political science, said. It’s difficult to continue business as normal amidst this situation, she said. “I definitely think the atmosphere has changed. How can you casually go about your day when people are getting tortured and killed just for having a thicker accent or darker skin?” Espinoza said. “It’s just so sad to think that students feel the need to constantly be on edge and be unaware if whether or not, if they turn the corner, there’s going to be someone there trying to harm them or detain them or strip them away from everything they know.” Mental Routines Changed -Though students have engaged in physical avoidance of spaces where ICE may be present, mental avoidance proves more difficult. “You’re seeing all of these news headlines of another person taken and nobody knows where they are. They’ve taken a 5-year-old. They’ve taken a 12-year-old,” Olivia said. “It’s truly a heavy mental weight that is something not easy to shake off and like it’s something that’s consistently happening. You just keep seeing article after article after article and it just makes it so much worse.” This mental weight has seeped into school, making it harder to focus on coursework and regular function. "As Latino students, I feel like for most of us, it’s hard for us to focus and to just ignore what’s happening and continue our lives when we know our community and people close to us are in danger of basically being attacked by ICE at any moment,” Tabora said. A third protestor is arrested outside the Archie M. Griffin Grand Ballroom on Tuesday as officers attempted to disperse protesters. Credit: Daniel Bush | Campus Photo Editor “It’s just a very weird timeline we’re living in right now. Everything that’s going on honestly makes it really hard to focus on school because it makes school feel less important,” Espinoza said. Students face difficulty maintaining the mundane routines of daily life while carrying this weight, Tabora said. “It’s hard to have dumb conversations or try to focus on what’s going on in class when you just saw the news of a 5-year-old getting arrested. It’s hard to ignore that and just continue your life and move on as if this is not happening, especially as part of this community,” Tabora said. “At the same time, I feel more encouraged than ever to try hard in school. I realized that I have to do this not just for myself, but also for my community.” Though she has not experienced it directly, Espinoza said her peers whose families are impacted by ICE also have trouble continuing with daily functions. “Going to class everyday when your family’s being directly impacted and knowing maybe you’re never going to see a parent or a sibling again when you come home for break, that is so upsetting and heartbreaking. Obviously, I think that would affect anybody’s ability to learn and focus,” Espinoza said. Individual students aren’t the only ones concerned. ICE presence has wide-reaching effects on student wellbeing, Jessica Asante-Tutu and Kathrina Noma, president and vice president of the Ohio State Undergraduate Student Government, said in an email. “The presence of ICE activity in Columbus is not an abstract issue. It has direct and tangible impacts on students in our community. When students feel uncertain about their safety or ability to fully participate in everyday aspects of campus life, it disrupts not only their academic experience but also their sense of belonging at Ohio State,” they said. Andrea Chacon-Ruiz and Ilan Guman hold sign at Latin Orgs 4 Love event on Friday, April 3rd at Mirror Lake. | Courtesy of Latine Students in Law Students expect more from Ohio State Students who spoke with The Lantern expressed frustration at Ohio State’s action and communication regarding ICE presence in the area. “Ohio State has truly been disappointing in this area. They haven’t really said much and especially didn’t say much about the protests that happened at the career fair. In fact, they invited ICE at this time. They wanted them as a willing participant, despite everything going on, which I think is very insulting to their Latino community and just immigrant communities in general,” Olivia said. On Jan. 20, students protested the inclusion of U.S. Customs and Border Protection representatives at a university career fair. Three people were arrested at this protest due to violation of space standards, according to prior Lantern reporting. “I don’t think they have any business whatsoever being on campus. I don’t think they have any business being in Columbus at all, but to come on campus, that’s just excessive and unnecessary,” Tabora said. The police reaction to students’ protest at the career fair also raised concerns, Espinoza said. “I think it’s really disturbing that Ohio State allowed ICE to have a booth at the career fair and then allowed campus police to actively go against students’ First Amendment right to protest,” Espinoza said. Communication from university administra