More than 100 Ohioans join Happy Dog Takes on ICE Forum

CLEVELAND — More than 100 community members joined for the City Club of Cleveland’s Happy Dog Takes on ICE forum as anti-ICE protests are taking place around the state.

While a federal judge has postponed the Trump administration’s termination of TPS for Haitians, many Ohioans are expressing concerns that Cleveland and other major cities in the state could be next in experiencing a potential surge in ICE operations.

Patrick Espinosa is the founder and managing partner at Sus Abogados Latinos, which is the only fully bilingual and Hispanic law firm in Ohio, based in Painesville. He joined other legal experts on stage at the Happy Dog on Cleveland’s west side, to discuss recent changes to U.S. immigration system under President Donald Trump, from increased deportations to large-scale ICE operations in several U.S. cities.

“The best way to, to fix our immigration system is for everybody to understand how it actually works and to avoid tragedies like we’ve seen in the last couple weeks,” Espinosa said.

From left to right, Patrick Espinosa, managing partner & Founder of Sus Abogados Latino; Lynn Tramonte, executive director of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance; and Chriss Schmitt, CEO of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association and forum moderator. (Spectrum News 1/Tanya Velazquez)

Americans’ attitudes toward ICE tactics have soured in recent weeks after the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by ICE agents in Minneapolis last month, according to a Quinnipiac University Poll. Around 60% of voters disapprove of the way ICE is enforcing immigration laws and think the recent ICE-involved shootings in Minneapolis are a sign of a broader issue in the way ICE is operating. 

Cleveland City Council passed an emergency resolution opposing proposed statewide legislation that would require state and local agencies to cooperate with ICE operations in Ohio. Still, the Ohio Immigrant Alliance said they’ve noticed a shift in federal immigration enforcement over the last year.

“It’s happening here. It’s not at the level – it’s not in your face like Minneapolis … but, I mean, we have to be ready, and it’s going to get worse,” said Lynn Tramonte, the executive director of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance.

While the country has experienced significant changes to immigration policy and enforcement tactics, Espinosa said the reason why people are migrating to the United States hasn’t changed.

“They do own businesses. They do work. They do pay taxes. They have children. They’re married to U.S. citizens,” Espinosa said. “… What immigrants are actually doing, it’s always been the same. And if you look at different studies put on by different groups, immigrants are more likely to be entrepreneurs, are more likely to employ more people.”