Anti-ICE Demonstrators Crowd Lake County Sheriff's Office

Lake County residents made their voices heard on Monday, as Lake-Geauga Fights Back Network, a coalition of activist groups, turned out en masse to demand an end to the controversial 287(g) agreement.

Protestors make their voices heard outside the Lake County Sheriff’s Office on Monday. Follow-up rallies are planned for early November. Alexandria Rose, Math City Times.

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PAINESVILLE, Ohio — Lake County Sheriff Frank Leonbruno’s partnership agreements with ICE — under the 287(g) program — have been criticized strongly by a growing number of residents. On Monday evening, protestors turned out to make their voices heard.

A sizeable and growing contingent of Lake County residents are upset that the Sheriff has volunteered such a deep commitment to assisting ICE, an organization which has been responsible for nearly 2,000 or more arrests across Ohio since the start of 2025. According to Lake county, a large portion of the 2025 arrests were of individuals already in local jails; either inmates awaiting trial or release.

“We got started protesting the 287(g) agreement all the way back out in June,” says LGFBN organizer Connor Marrot, “when we were able to find out through many different FOIA requests that Sheriff Leonbruno had signed the agreement. That was not publicly announced.”

The magnitude of Sheriff Leonbruno’s commitment is concerning to residents of Lake County’s most heavily latiné populated city. Also of concern is that the agreement was signed back in June, and never made public until 17th September.

“Over the summer, in late August,” says Connor, “the sheriff announced for the first time that the 287(g) agreement was signed. So, we escalated our organizing efforts. Now we are asking for the agreement to be revoked.”

The Sheriff’s Office, according to Frank Leonbruno’s press release, stated it will not participate in ICE raids unless they involve high-risk warrants for violent offenders or cartel members, nor will deputies initiate independent immigration violation investigations. Frank Leonbruno’s statement, as seen on Facebook, is presented below.

PRESS RELEASE

LAKE COUNTY (OHIO) SHERIFF’S OFFICE

SUBJECT: IMMIGRATION 287g AGREEMENTS

DATE: SEPTEMBER 17, 2025

The Lake County (Ohio) Sheriff’s Office has had numerous inquiries as to our co-operation with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). We have signed two agreements with Immigration regarding the 287g program. It should be noted we just received the signed agreements back last week and still need to complete specific training before we can begin limited participation in the 287g the program.

The following details those 287g programs and our intended limited participation:

• The Task Force Model (TFM): Authorizes deputies on patrol to enforce immigration laws during routine duties, such as traffic stops. In such cases, if a Deputy encounters a person who has a detainer by ICE for being in the Country illegally, and the Deputy does not have any criminal charges pending, the Deputy can take the person into custody on the Immigration detainer and take that person to an ICE facility. (Note, the Lake County Jail IS NOT an ICE detention facility )

We will provide continuous oversight and training to staff to ensure they understand our intended scope of their limited authority. Although the TFM agreement authorizes broader enforcement action, our participation will be limited to enforcement during encounters which occur during our course of routine duties. We will monitor all operations, including interactions with ICE, to ensure the constitutional and civil rights of community members are protected.

We will not participate in ICE raids at businesses, schools, or neighborhoods unless specifically requested for high-risk warrants involving violent offenders or cartel members. We will not initiate independent investigations related to immigration law violations.

• The Warrant Service Officer (WSO) Program: Authorizes trained jail staff to serve and execute ICE administrative warrants on individuals already in custody. In such cases, when a person presently incarcerated in the Lake County Jail on criminal charges or sentencing, and is due to be released, the jail will serve the ICE warrant on that person. The jail will then hold that person on the ICE detainer for up to 48 hrs until Immigration can come and pick the person up and remove them from the Lake County Jail. Note, we will not house immigration detainees under a pay-for-stay model such as the Jail Enforcement Model (JEM). We are not an ICE Detention facility.

Additional Information

The 287(g) agreements do not change existing jail operations. Since 2015, individuals in custody have been held for up to 48 hours in response to ICE detainers. The Warrant Service Officer program formalizes this process within current operations.

The Task Force Model also authorizes deputies to detain individuals subject to ICE detainers and transfer custody to federal authorities. It was in 2015 that a man in the Country illegally attempted to rape a young girl, murdered and raped a woman in one our townships, and then began shooting at people along the Greenway corridor. Our deputies had encountered that man 2 weeks earlier during a suspicious circumstance. However, due to Obama era immigration policies, we were unable to detain him. To help prevent that tragedy from occurring again, we decided to begin detaining illegal immigrants already in our custody on Immigration detainers for up to 48 hrs to help ensure the safety and security of our residents.

Sheriff Frank Leonbruno

Local residents remain unconvinced of the Sheriff’s claims. Many Pe’villers have pointed out the fact that Sheriffs deputies and local police have already begun to appear alongside DHS-ICE agents and elements of the US Border Patrol. Furthermore, activists have given their accounts of Painesville police and Lake County Sheriff Deputies’ engaged in what they allege as racial profiling.

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An LGFBN organizer addresses the crowd in front of the Sheriff’s office with detailed accounts of what she describes as racial profiling by Painesville police and Lake County Deputies, sometimes in conjunction with DHS-ICE. Sheriff Leonbruno has repeatedly denied that his deputies have worked in any capacity with ICE, stating that officers need additional training before the partnership goes into effect. Alexandria Rose, Math City Times.

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“Many residents are starting to question”, begins Rachel Rodriguez, wife of Painesville City Council member Mario Rodriguez, “the aggressiveness of the Sheriff department and the Painesville police towards our residents.”

She continues: “We started to see to how over-policed our five mile city is becoming, and listened as officials, such as Painesville City Manager Doug Lewis, bragged about the quantity of officers.”

Lake County is currently expanding its jail service in Painesville, with a new ward capable of holding upwards of 504 inmates being built across the street. This new facility will expand the jail’s capacity to 857 total. Local residents are concerned that the expansion will be used to house inmates targeted in the 287(g) agreement.

“ICE is here,” says Rachel, speaking to Alexandria Rose outside of the Sheriff’s office, “and they will continue to be here until we physically push them out of here, until we hold them accountable and say no, and fight back.”

“Definitely seek out your rights information,” urges Rachel Rodriguez, “from the ACLU and local grassroots orgs. If you’re stopped, make sure you know what your legal rights are and feel comfortable exercising them. You can always remain silent, that is your 5th amendment right.”

Rachel Rodriguez is currently facing charges of criminal trespassing and obstruction of official business after she and her husband, Painesville City Council member Mario Rodriguez, intervened between Painesville police and a group of teenagers playing basketball in a park after hours.

As Sheriff Leonbruno’s ICE partnership continues to develop, local resistance vows to intensify.