How does Ashland County fit into the nation’s immigration issue?

ASHLAND — Three Ashland County leaders embarked on a trip to the U.S.-Mexico border last week.

While there, Ashland County Sheriff candidate Kurt Schneider, Ashland Mayor Matt Miller and State Rep. Melanie Miller (R-Ashland) learned about the border crisis through discussions and time spent with law enforcement from Arizona’s Cochise County.

The county of 125,000 people borders Mexico and bears witness to one of the country’s hottest issues driving debate today: illegal immigration.

The trip spanned Sept. 30 to Oct. 3, and each leader said it was funded by personal dollars.

Following the trip, Schneider — who is running unopposed in the general election to be Ashland County’s next sheriff — issued a press release with comments from himself and the Millers.

Schneider said illegal immigration “is a strain on our community, state and nation.”

Illegal immigration was listed as one of Schneider’s priorities when running for the Republican nomination earlier this year, and he reiterated the priority in his press release.

“(Schneider) promised to fight the effects of illegal immigration and do whatever could be done to keep Ashland County families safe,” it reads.

Immigration in the U.S., a snapshot

While in Arizona, the trio met with Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels, who has in recent months met with presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, and former independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in an effort to relay challenges he and local law enforcement face.

The sheriff serves as the Border Security Committee chair for the National Sheriffs’ Association, which was involved in an open letter from the American Sheriff Alliance in September urging Washington to find bipartisan solutions to a border security situation the sheriffs say is unsustainable and endangers Americans.

The open letter points to the following Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) numbers:

• 10.5 million illegal entries nationwide since 2021, up from roughly 3 million total between 2017 and 2020.
• Since the beginning of 2024, there have been 2.4 million illegal entries.

The American Sheriff Alliance estimates there are roughly 2 million “got-aways,” people who have evaded CBP and “are now present in the United States.”

The alliance also said there are almost 400 illegal immigrants from 36 countries who have entered the country since 2021 who “appear on the U.S. government’s Terrorist Screening Database.”

Schneider said he learned about an “elaborate system” operated by drug cartels in which they smuggle “undocumented aliens in the United States.”

“Additionally, we learned that all of the people crossing in Cochise County are smuggled across by the cartel, attempt to avoid law enforcement and then basically become indentured servants to the cartel after they are transported to communities around the country,” Schneider said.

The sheriff candidate then encouraged people to vote for “President Trump and key supporters like Bernie Moreno so they can continue Trump’s border security package.”

Immigration in Ohio

The U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 1-year estimate shows there were 733,625 people living in Ohio in 2023 who were either born in Puerto Rico or other U.S. island areas, born abroad of American parents, naturalized U.S. citizens or “not a U.S. citizen.”

Of those, 41% are considered "not a U.S. citizen," according to census data.

New deportation cases in Ohio have skyrocketed since 2021. From 2022 through August, there have been 63,801 deportation cases filed, according to data tracked by Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC).

These cases include charges on terrorism, national security and other crimes. But the vast majority are charged with what’s called “entry without inspection” (EWI). 

The Department of Homeland Security ranks immigration charges — which differ from traditional criminal charges — by severity below.

• Terrorism
• National security
• Criminal-aggravated felony
• Other criminal
• Other (miscellaneous)
• Other immigration charge 
• Entry without inspection (EWI)

EWI cases are when someone crosses the U.S. border without proper authorization or inspection by immigration officials.

For context, in Ohio, there have been 27,025 deportation cases filed in Ohio so far this year. Of those, 16,461 were classified as EWI cases. 

All of those cases filter through 12 judges at one court in Ohio: the federal courthouse along Superior Avenue in Cleveland.

There was an average of 600 asylum filings per year in Ohio from 2001-2015. From 2017-2023, the yearly average shot up to 2,036.

From 2018-2023, the 12 judges in Cleveland issued 2,735 asylum decisions. Of those, around 18.7% were granted asylum and 3.5% were granted other relief. The vast majority — 77.7% — were denied asylum. 

The increase in cases over the last two years has caused a backlog at the Cleveland court, and immigration courts across the country. Currently, there are 56,130 pending cases in Cleveland.

So where do undocumented immigrants with pending cases go? 

There are five immigration detention centers in Ohio, according to the Center for Immigration Assistance. They are: 

• Bedford Heights City Jail
• Butler County Correctional Complex
• Morrow County Correctional Facility
• Seneca County Jail
• Geauga County Safety Center

Immigration in Ashland County

There are some families living in Ashland that await hearings in federal court, according to Ashland Mayor Matt Miller and State Rep. Melanie Miller. Both said they have spoken with those people.

The Ashland mayor does not know the specifics of their cases, but:

"There are people living here. Their children are in our schools, and they're some of the best-behaved kids. They're not causing harm, there are no drugs. No human smuggling," he said.

There are around 843 foreign born people living in Ashland County, according to data compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey five-year estimates.

Of those, the Census Bureau estimates 356 are noncitizens and 309 have become naturalized U.S. citizens.

The Census Bureau categorizes these people as “lawful permanent residents (immigrants), temporary migrants (such as foreign students), humanitarian migrants (such as refugees and asylees) and unauthorized migrants.”

Around 38%, or 136, of those non-citizens are currently living in the city of Ashland, according to the same census dataset. Here’s how the rest of the county breaks down: 

Of the eight villages across Ashland County, the U.S. Census Bureau only had data for Loudonville, where the government said six people lived who are "not U.S. citizens."

There is more data on townships.

Ashland County has had encounters with undocumented immigrants — but they are rare. 

There have been four Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests in Ashland County since 2015, according to TRAC data covering the timeframe from October 2014 to October 2017.

Each case received a conviction on the following charges: 

• One vehicle theft
• One trespassing
• Two DUIs

There were 5,521 ICE arrests across the state during the same timeframe. Most of the arrests happened in Franklin and Cuyahoga counties. Of those arrests, 1,423 weren’t convicted of crimes.

There have been 36 detainers, often referred to as “immigration holds” by ICE, in Ashland County between 2008-2024. 

ICE defines a detainer as a hold on “individuals who have been arrested on criminal charges and who ICE has probable cause to believe are removable non-citizens.” So those 36 detainers in Ashland County between 2008 and 2024 mean a local law enforcement agency held a non-citizen “for a brief period of time” before ICE took custody of the person.

Most of those 36 detainers — 21 — didn’t lead to convictions. There were nine which resulted in convictions on charges ICE considers to be "aggravated felonies.” Four of them resulted in convictions on misdemeanors. The other two are unknown because ICE withheld the information. 

From December 2013 through July 2020, there have been eight removals under the “Secure Communities Program.” 

One of those removals didn’t lead to a conviction. But three led to convictions on aggravated felonies, two were other felonies and another two were misdemeanors.

Ashland is not a county that has laws or local ordinances related to offering sanctuary to asylees. There are four counties in Ohio (Franklin, Hamilton, Lorain, Mahoning) known as “sanctuary jurisdictions."

Ashland Municipal Court handled 11,572 cases in 2023. When asked how many of those cases involved undocumented migrants, Judge John Good's response was "No clue."

Good said a person's citizenship status is not something he's permitted to ask and he said it's not information a judge should seek.

The judge is, however, concerned with cases that involve people who do not have a driver's license or insurance who are pulled over on OVIs or speeding incidents.

The court uses a computer-based interpretation system, but the need for translators at the municipal court over the last few years has increased.

"People have to understand what they've been charged with, they have to understand what's happening when they're in court," he said.

But, Good said, "Do I see a rash of people who might be considered non-citizens committing crimes in Ashland? No, I do not see that." 

Ashland County Prosecutor Chris Tunnell said his office has seen a handful of cases in the last year of people pulled over and producing fake identification or forged citizenry documents. Those cases, however, have been non-violent.

What the leaders say

When asked why they went, leaders said they wanted to see the problem first-hand.

"There's hype coming from many sides of the issue," said Ashland Mayor Matt Miller. "I wanted to see it for myself."

For Matt Miller, the trip was timely.

"The timing ended up being very relevant because of all the talk about Springfield," he said.

Thousands of Haitian immigrants have settled in Springfield, a city of 60,000 situated 45 miles west of Columbus, in recent years, according to reports.

They have found work in factories and warehouses, but the sudden influx has "strained schools, health-care facilities and city services and driven up the cost of housing," reads an Associated Press news report.

The mayor said immigration has been one of the most frequent concerns on constituents' minds lately, with calls to his office, emails and conversations around the city.

He said he has "no knowledge" of Ashland getting busloads of illegal immigrants, but he said the trip helped put the issue in perspective.

State Rep. Melanie Miller acknowledged that Ashland County might not have a dire immigration problem.

"We may not have a problem in Ashland County or Ohio, but we want to be ahead of the problem," she said.

She said the trip widened her perspective and got her wondering if there are "ways to empower local law enforcement" through state laws.

Arizona voters will vote next month on Proposition 314, a measure that makes it a state crime for migrants to cross into the U.S. unofficially. Enforcement of the law would largely rest on county law enforcement.

When asked if she would support a similar bill in Ohio, she said she would have "to read the language of the bill."

"If they've broken the law to be here, what should the consequence be? Most people in Ashland County would say they should go back," she said. "No one has a problem with immigrants being here. It's just with how they got here illegally." 

The state representative issued her own press release upon her arrival back to Ohio. Read it below.

Schneider's response

Ashland Source followed up with Schneider with the following questions:  

• Does the sheriff's office have any information on how many of the 220 noncitizens are either temporary migrants, humanitarian migrants or unauthorized migrants? If so, where are you gathering that data?
• Ashland Source asked Schneider to respond data that quantifies the effects of illegal immigration in Ashland County. Specifically, we asked him: What are we missing? Is there anything we overlooked? If so, please be specific in how I can either verify or learn more.
• Ashland Source asked Schneider to clarify his quote: “Illegal immigration is a strain on our community, state and nation." Specifically, we asked him: Can you be specific: how is illegal immigration a strain on communities in Ashland County?

Here is how he responded: