COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — Multiple Ohio organizations are suing the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Customs and Border Protection.The lawsuit, filed on March 18, claims federal agents are illegally arresting people in Ohio. "It's terrible," said Freda Levenson, legal director at ACLU of Ohio. "These are human beings."Included in the lawsuit are several descriptions of arrests made by federal agents in Ohio."They hold down a job," said Levenson when describing the people arrested. "They pay taxes. They're embedded in their community."The lawsuit was filed on behalf of all people in Ohio who federal agents are accused of illegally arresting since April 22, 2025. Levenson said the arrests are considered illegal because the federal agents did not have a warrant for arrest and did not have probable cause to believe the person in question would escape before an arrest warrant could be obtained."If they're going to detain someone and hold them, they need to either have a warrant or else determine that the person is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained," Levenson said. "In nearly all of these cases, the immigration judge grants them bond because the immigration judge finds that they're not a flight risk. So if this assessment had been done prior to the arrest, that poor person wouldn't have had to suffer this horrible treatment and disruption of their lives and deprivation of their liberty."A DHS spokesperson told WSYX:“Enforcing immigration law is not optional and is essential to protecting America’s national security, public safety, and economic strength. Operations are conducted lawfully within the authority granted to immigration officers under Title 8. Law enforcement officers use ‘reasonable suspicion’ to investigate immigration status and probable cause to make arrests under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. For decades, the Supreme Court and Congress have recognized the propriety of administrative warrants in cases of immigration enforcement."But the lawsuit alleges a man was arrested on December 18th, 2025, in Ohio after leaving a home improvement store where he purchased materials for work. As he left the store, the lawsuit claims two agents exited an unmarked vehicle. They were allegedly wearing plain clothes with face coverings and said in Spanish, "Police. This is a routine check." The lawsuit goes on to include that the man in question had an asylum case. The officers are accused of not showing him a warrant or assessing whether he was likely to escape before they obtained a warrant. The lawsuit points out that the man allegedly cooperated, has a U.S. work permit, and has a social security number. "This is illegal," said Levenson. "It violates the law. This is an unlawful practice."Since Operation Buckeye, launched in December of 2025, Senator Bernie Moreno has expressed his support for federal agents' efforts. In January, Moreno wrote on X, "Follow the rules or get deported."In December, during the height of Operation Buckeye, Senator Jon Husted wrote on X, "If someone enters the country illegally, is that a criminal crime? Illegal entry = criminal offense. Unlawful presence (e.g., overstaying a visa) = civil violation. Illegal re-entry after deportation = felony. Obey the laws, enforce the rule of law."ICE said it targeted the "worst of the worst" criminals in Columbus and throughout Ohio during Operation Buckeye. “We operate in Ohio every day, but we recently surged our resources there under Operation Buckeye,” said ICE Director Todd M. Lyons. “Since Jan. 20, we’ve arrested drug traffickers, spousal abusers, thieves and worse. Many of the people we’ve arrested have final orders of removal dating back years — and none of them had legal authorization to be in the United States in the first place.”