Overview
- Demonstrators gathered outside the Lake County Sheriff’s Office on Monday night, calling on Sheriff Frank Leonbruno to withdraw the ICE agreements.
- The protest, organized by the Lake-Geauga Fights Back Network, drew hundreds in downtown Painesville.
- Lake County signed two 287(g)-style agreements: a Task Force Model allowing trained deputies to enforce federal immigration laws during routine duties and a Warrant Service Officer program authorizing jail staff to serve ICE warrants and hold inmates up to 48 hours for pickup.
- The agreements are signed but not yet active because deputies and jail staff must complete required federal training.
- Leonbruno defends the move as lawful and limited—promising no conversion of the jail to an ICE facility, no independent immigration investigations, and participation in ICE raids only when requested for high-risk cases—while critics warn of profiling and reduced crime reporting.