Chardon, Ohio
Over 100 activists from all around Northeast Ohio turned out for a protest outside an immigrant detention center on Feb. 8. Migrant rights supporters from as far away as the west side of Cleveland and from Akron drove an hour or more to say, “No hate, no fear! Immigrants are welcome here!” Chardon, the site of the detention center, is east of Cleveland in Geauga County, where a majority of voters supported Donald Trump for president last November.
Demonstration outside immigrant detention center, Chardon, Ohio, Feb. 8, 2025. WW Photo: Martha Grevatt
When six workers at the Cilantro Taqueria restaurant in Cleveland Heights were arrested by ICE on Jan. 26, they were jailed at the Chardon detention center. Five were released but not until Feb. 5 and only after each of them posted a $4,500 bond.
Lake County, east of Cleveland and north of Geauga County, also went for Trump. The action was called by Like Minded in Lake County, along with a local organizer, Sarah Tascone. Clearly, there are a lot of people in “Trump Country” that consider it important to speak out against the president’s virulent racism and xenophobia.
Demonstration outside immigrant detention center, Chardon, Ohio, Feb. 8, 2025. WW Photo: Susan Schnur