SYLVANIA, Ohio (WTVG) – Residents packed a Sylvania City Council meeting to let their opinions on federal immigration enforcement be heard.
People on both sides of the debate are speaking out about a proposed ordinance introduced by Councilman Doug Haynam.
Haynam said his proposal declares no one in Sylvania should be discriminated against based on immigration status, and that Sylvania should not use limited city resources for federal immigration enforcement.
People against the proposal said that the police department is capable of making its own decisions and does not need another set of rules on top of its police policies.
Barbara Shaffner is a retired law enforcement officer who worked in Miami, Florida. She now lives in Sylvania Township.
As a former officer, she views supporting ICE as a form of mutual aid. Shaffner said that local departments do not carry out federal law enforcement actions, but police do assist in crowd control situations.
“ICE would call only if they needed a backup because they’re getting a crowd, because a guy’s getting unruly and they’re the only ones there,” Shaffner said.
She added that local police officers are not the ones searching for people who are in the country illegally.
During a previous city council meeting, Sylvania Chief of Police Danilynn Miller explained that members of her department are not allowed to detain individuals for a civil violation of federal immigration laws or a related civil warrant.
For the chief’s comparison of Haynam’s ordinance to existing police policy, see the file at the end of this article.
“You don’t go out and look for it,” Shaffner said. “They either have a hold, they have an extradition order, whatever, and that’s when you take them to jail.”
That is why she was unsupportive of the ordinance dictating how city law enforcement engages with ICE.
Others, including the leader of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC), made their message clear: they don’t want ICE to be connected with local police.
Velasquez said he is not against ICE, but does not support some agents’ conduct.
“There has to be some governance with immigration, and ICE plays a role in that, but they’ve gotta do it right,” Velasquez said.
He also cited constitutional questions about judicial vs administrative warrants.
The FLOC founder wants to foster trust between law enforcement and citizens.
“I believe that we have to work very diligently in creating those relationships so that we can have cooperation with our local law enforcement, we want them to be our friends, we want to be able to go to them when we have a problem,” Velasquez said.
Ultimately, Councilwoman Lyndsey Stough proposed having administration, including the chief of police and law director, create a new ordinance or resolution.
“I don’t know the full impacts of [Haynam’s ordinance] and that’s part of why I would like more time to study and discuss,” Stough said.
Every council member but Haynam approved working on a new measure. The councilman said he was disappointed but not surprised.
“Which is why I’ve gone the other route and put it in the hands of the voters,” Haynam said.
He plans on collecting signatures from citizens on his original proposal.
Haynam said once he collects enough signatures and presents it to council, members have 40 days to take action. After that, he is able to put his proposed ordinance on the ballot.
City administration has 90 days to create a new ordinance.
You can read the full memorandum and Sylvania police’s current policy here:
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