Community Organizations Continue Peaceful Demonstration on Oct 28 at CCNO Board Meeting, Urge End to ICE Detention Contract
Defiance, Ohio - On Wednesday, Oct, 28 2026, faith leaders, human rights advocates, concerned residents, and community organizations will gather outside the Defiance County Public Safety Building in Brunnersburg to peacefully call on the Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio (CCNO) Board to terminate its ICE contract with the U.S. Marshals Service. The community organizations taking part are Defiance County Democratic Party, Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC), La Conexión, Northwest Ohio Peace Coalition (NWOPC), Social & Immigration Justice League of Ohio (SIJLO), Toledo Immigrant Alliance, Toledo Persists, and the Bowling Green “Raging Grannies”.
The demonstration comes after no response from the CCNO Board regarding concerns regarding the role our local governments play in the federal immigration detention system and follows recent federal court rulings affirming that ICE detainees are entitled to constitutional due process protections. CCNO through its ICE contract and several local northwest Ohio law enforcement departments are routinely cooperating with ICE Officers to detain minor traffic violators. Due process rights have too often been denied while individuals remain detained at CCNO.
Event Information
WHAT: Peaceful demonstration and public witness calling for an end to CCNO's ICE detention contract
WHEN: Wednesday, Oct 28, 2026, 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
WHERE: Defiance County Public Safety Building, 22491 Mill Street, Defiance, Ohio
WHO: Community faith leaders, local residents, and various community organizations
Organizers say the issue extends beyond immigration policy. We are asking Northwest Ohio residents to look beyond the national debate over immigration and instead focus on local decision-making.
"Is this the kind of community we choose to be?," said Sonya Mavis, Vice President of the Social & Immigration Justice League of Ohio. "CCNO was created to serve public safety - not to become part of a detention economy. When millions of dollars in surplus revenue are generated through civil immigration detention, every taxpayer has the right to ask whether our local institutions are being guided by public safety or by financial incentives. Leadership means choosing people over profit, transparency over silence, and accountability over convenience. Our elected officials are accountable to the communities they serve. History remembers the moments when leaders choose accountability over convenience. We believe this is one of those moments.”
According to CCNO reports, it has accumulated well over $2.1 million in surplus revenue from detention contracts, excluding commissary trust funds. Immigration violations are civil, not criminal offences and local governments should not financially benefit from housing individuals awaiting immigration proceedings.
The coalition is calling on the CCNO Board to:
- Hold a public vote on whether the ICE contract should continue.
- End the ICE detention contract.
- Establish an independent ombudsperson for ICE detainees.
- Ensure meaningful due process protections for all individuals held under federal immigration authority.
Organizers emphasize that the demonstration will remain peaceful and nonviolent while encouraging community members to attend the public meeting, observe local government in action, and make their voices heard. The demonstration will feature remarks from local organizers, impacted community members, faith leaders, and the Bowling Green Raging Grannies, whose music has become a familiar presence at social justice events throughout Ohio.
"We are asking our elected officials to lead with transparency," Mavis said. "If this contract reflects the values of our communities, then they should be willing to defend it publicly. If it doesn't, then it's time to end it."