CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — The fight continues.
It’s now been more than a week since six Cilantro Taqueria employees were reportedly picked up in an ICE raid.
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While many argue mass deportation is unjust, News 5 spoke with Ohio Senator Jerry Cirino (R-Kirtland) during President Donald Trump’s first week in office. He said federal agents are just enforcing the law.
“Illegal immigration is the problem, and very few countries allow immigrants to just simply flow in and out as they wish, without some kind of process,” Cirino said.
We reached out to the Ohio GOP for comment on Monday but did not hear back. Cirino was not available for a follow-up interview.
As concerns around the topic grow on the local level, so are the demands.
Tahm Lytle is a member of the Cleveland Chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL). She helped organize a Rapid Response Community Meeting on Monday night.
“We just wanted to engage the community that has been pouring out responses online in response to the ICE raid that happened down the street at Cilantro Taqueria. It's a beloved restaurant here in Coventry Village, so there was a lot of emotion and fear, but also anger in the community, and we wanted to direct it towards action items,” Lytle shared.
Dozens of people showed up to the meeting hosted in the basement of a Cleveland Heights bookstore.
“I was really encouraged by the turnout. It was incredible, especially for something that was so last minute. It felt really inspirational to be in a room full of people who care,” Lytle said.
The first hour of the meeting comprised an informational session on what to do if approached by ICE agents. It was followed by the making of pamphlets and cutting fliers to hand out around the area.
“The goal for the group was to let folks know what their rights and the rights of their community members are and then to direct folks towards the Cleveland Heights City Council meeting,” Lytle added. “With this (federal) administration and also with a similar iteration of it in the past, there was this tactic of fear mongering and making people feel like they were powerless in the face of endless executive orders and horrible policies being rolled out. I think it's [not only] an important part of our party but also just as members of the community to assure each other that we don't have to be afraid. We are stronger together.”
Several of those that attended PSL’s meeting also showed up to Cleveland Heights’ City Council meeting.
One resident told council members, “In the end we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends. This is not the time to stay silent on this issue.”
The consensus of many is that city council needs to do more, like draft legislation that would prohibit Cleveland Heights police from assisting ICE agents.
Several public speakers also requested that city officials do something to ensure the federal government cannot and will not enter schools in Cleveland Heights.
President Donald Trump recently removed restrictions on "sensitive areas." ICE officers can now enter schools, places of worship, and hospitals — something the Ohio Attorney General supports.
“At the end of the day, you go where the people are when you're enforcing the law. We don't have safe spaces to break the law,” said Dave Yost, Ohio Attorney General.
Mayor Khalil Seren told community members at Monday’s board meeting that the city has yet to receive any official information from the federal government regarding the ICE raid on Cilantro Taqueria.
Seren spoke prior to public comment, so whether new legislation regarding immigration will pop up in the future was not addressed, but he did refer back to a proposal he introduced years prior as a council member.
“That legislation was not acted on by this council. Not these members of this council, but I don't know who was on the council at that time. I don't remember, but that legislation was introduced and mostly ignored,” he recalled.
RELATED: Cleveland Heights residents could soon weigh in on immigration issues through new task force
That legislation would have prevented Cleveland Heights Police from detaining any individual for any length of time for a “civil immigration law violation,” according to Seren.
“We do not engage in the enforcement of federal civil immigration law. That is, at this point, a policy at the administrative level because we were not successful at moving that forward through the legislative process,” Seren added.
PSL is hosting an “organizing meeting” on Wednesday at the Cleveland Liberation Center at 6 p.m.
“You're not alone. You're loved and your community is here to fight for you. We're putting together a plan and we're going to figure out how to fight for you,” Lytle said.
