The ACLU of Ohio and immigrant advocacy groups across the state have filed a class action lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement over what the groups describe as unlawful arrest practices in Ohio.The lawsuit alleges ICE conducted warrantless arrests without probable cause and without first making an individualized determination that the person was likely to escape before a warrant could be obtained.DHS denied the allegations in a statement, saying its operations are conducted lawfully under the authority granted to immigration officers in Title 8 of federal law, which outlines their powers without a warrant.Those powers include questioning someone they believe to be an immigrant about whether that person has the right to be in the United States, and making warrantless arrests if the person is violating immigration law and is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained.“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,” a DHS spokesperson said. “For decades, the Supreme Court and Congress have recognized the propriety of administrative warrants in cases of immigration enforcement.”The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio in Columbus by the ACLU of Ohio, Community Refugee & Immigration Services (CRIS) Ohio, and Advocates for Basic Legal Equality (ABLE) Ohio. It names the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement as defendants.The complaint details several accounts involving immigrants in Ohio who were approached by plainclothes officers and allegedly arrested without a warrant and without a pre-arrest determination of whether they were likely to flee.“A lot of them have done everything right,” said Amy Gilbert, senior staff attorney with the ACLU of Ohio. “Two of our plaintiffs are asylum seekers and, for our four named plaintiffs, once a judge finally did examine their flight risk assessment, they were released. So, this flight risk assessment is just not being made, and that is in violation of the law.”One plaintiff, identified in the lawsuit only by the initials F.M., fled from Kenya to Huron, Ohio, on a J-1 work-study visa in 2023 and worked on a farm. According to the lawsuit, F.M. had faced violence and persecution in Kenya. He later applied for asylum, received an asylum-based work permit in 2024, and moved to Sandusky, Ohio. F.M. was working as a delivery driver when he was arrested by four men in civilian clothes without a warrant or a pre-arrest determination of his likelihood of escape, the lawsuit alleges.F.M. was detained for five weeks before an immigration judge released him on bond after determining he was not a flight risk.“The Trump administration is using ICE as a supersized deportation force to round up individuals who have steady jobs, cohesive families, strong ties to their community, and lack any criminal record,” said Freda Levenson, chief legal officer for the ACLU of Ohio. “We urge the court to enjoin this cruel and unlawful abuse of our neighbors.”The Ohio case is among 10 lawsuits filed across the country alleging similar practices by federal immigration authorities. In this case, the ACLU of Ohio and its partners are asking the court to order federal authorities to stop the alleged practice.

COLUMBUS, Ohio —

The ACLU of Ohio and immigrant advocacy groups across the state have filed a class action lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement over what the groups describe as unlawful arrest practices in Ohio.

The lawsuit alleges ICE conducted warrantless arrests without probable cause and without first making an individualized determination that the person was likely to escape before a warrant could be obtained.

DHS denied the allegations in a statement, saying its operations are conducted lawfully under the authority granted to immigration officers in Title 8 of federal law, which outlines their powers without a warrant.

Those powers include questioning someone they believe to be an immigrant about whether that person has the right to be in the United States, and making warrantless arrests if the person is violating immigration law and is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained.

“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,” a DHS spokesperson said. “For decades, the Supreme Court and Congress have recognized the propriety of administrative warrants in cases of immigration enforcement.”

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio in Columbus by the ACLU of Ohio, Community Refugee & Immigration Services (CRIS) Ohio, and Advocates for Basic Legal Equality (ABLE) Ohio. It names the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement as defendants.

The complaint details several accounts involving immigrants in Ohio who were approached by plainclothes officers and allegedly arrested without a warrant and without a pre-arrest determination of whether they were likely to flee.

“A lot of them have done everything right,” said Amy Gilbert, senior staff attorney with the ACLU of Ohio. “Two of our plaintiffs are asylum seekers and, for our four named plaintiffs, once a judge finally did examine their flight risk assessment, they were released. So, this flight risk assessment is just not being made, and that is in violation of the law.”

One plaintiff, identified in the lawsuit only by the initials F.M., fled from Kenya to Huron, Ohio, on a J-1 work-study visa in 2023 and worked on a farm.

According to the lawsuit, F.M. had faced violence and persecution in Kenya. He later applied for asylum, received an asylum-based work permit in 2024, and moved to Sandusky, Ohio. F.M. was working as a delivery driver when he was arrested by four men in civilian clothes without a warrant or a pre-arrest determination of his likelihood of escape, the lawsuit alleges.

F.M. was detained for five weeks before an immigration judge released him on bond after determining he was not a flight risk.

“The Trump administration is using ICE as a supersized deportation force to round up individuals who have steady jobs, cohesive families, strong ties to their community, and lack any criminal record,” said Freda Levenson, chief legal officer for the ACLU of Ohio. “We urge the court to enjoin this cruel and unlawful abuse of our neighbors.”

The Ohio case is among 10 lawsuits filed across the country alleging similar practices by federal immigration authorities. In this case, the ACLU of Ohio and its partners are asking the court to order federal authorities to stop the alleged practice.