Operation Buckeye has entered its second week in the Buckeye state, nabbing criminal illegal aliens who have been allowed to roam free by Ohio’s sanctuary politicians.
The federal law enforcement surge in Ohio began Dec. 16, targeting illegal immigrants with convictions for felony drug possession, assault, robbery, sex crimes, DUIs, and more.
According to numerous reports, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has detained over 200 illegal immigrants in Columbus, Ohio, another Midwest city with a large Somali community, and other cities.
“We operate in Ohio every day, but we recently surged our resources there under Operation Buckeye,” said ICE Director Todd M. Lyons. “Since Jan. 20, we’ve arrested drug traffickers, spousal abusers, thieves and worse. Many of the people we’ve arrested have final orders of removal dating back years — and none of them had legal authorization to be in the United States in the first place.”
ICE has shared several updates on social media, announcing the arrests of criminals such as Samy Javier Amendarez Mejia from Honduras, Ignacio Giron-Giron from Guatemala, and Ramon Guzman Jiminez from Mexico.
OPERATION BUCKEYE:
ICE arrested Samy Javier Amendarez Mejia, a criminal illegal alien from Honduras, on Dec. 14.
He was arrested for burglary and stolen vehicle charges on Jan. 7, 2024, after illegally entering the U.S. under the Biden administration. pic.twitter.com/omd3VpBxIs
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) December 27, 2025
OPERATION BUCKEYE:
ICE arrested Ramon Guzman Jiminez, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico who was convicted of meth and heroin related charges.
He’s been deported FOUR TIMES. His case highlights why @POTUS and @Sec_Noem have prioritized border security. pic.twitter.com/phgwSfEjdi
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) December 29, 2025
Jiminez was convicted of meth and heroin related charges. “He’s been deported FOUR TIMES. His case highlights why @POTUS and @Sec_Noem have prioritized border security,” ICE shared on X.
Mejia was arrested for burglary and stolen vehicle charges on Jan. 7, 2024, after illegally entering the U.S. on Oct. 15, 2023, under the Biden administration.
Giron-Giron has a lengthy rap sheet, including convictions for DUI, second-degree wanton endangerment, fourth-degree assault, contempt of court, possession of an open container in a motor vehicle, public intoxication, shoplifting and third-degree trespassing.
“ICE is fighting to keep the Buckeye State safe from illegal alien crime,” the agency said in a news release with a list of names and mugshots of people arrested so far.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security also gave an update on the operation on social media with a clip from ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan.
Operation Buckeye has surged DHS law enforcement to target violent criminal illegal aliens who have been allowed to roam free by Ohio’s sanctuary politicians. pic.twitter.com/5LA4LC0LQr
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) December 26, 2025
“We’ve had a lot of success very quickly,” Sheahan said during a segment on FOX News. “Our officers have gone out and truly arrested the worst of the worst. We have arrested gang members, murderers and rapists. We’ve arrested people with sex crime charges. We’ve arrested people with DUI charges.”
“They’ve taken advantage of the system here in Ohio, and we’re putting a stop to that, allowing us to go after the worst of the worst who have embedded themselves in these communities near Columbus, Ohio,” Sheahan continued.
Days before news of Operation Buckeye, Mehek Cooke, an Ohio attorney, conservative commentator and whistleblower, told Fox News Digital that “Minnesota was just the tip of the spear” when it comes to fraud among taxpayer-funded social service programs.
In Columbus, Ohio, the Somali population is between 40,000 to 60,000. Cooke alleges the Ohio Somali community is involved in the fraudulent “rubber-stamping” of Medicaid waiver services.
The scheme involves Ohio’s Medicaid waiver programs for home health care and doctors who get kickbacks for enrolling people, even approving them for fake medical conditions.
Meanwhile, Columbus’ Democrat Mayor Andrew Ginther has denounced the ICE arrests and posted a video to his Facebook page.
“Columbus is proud to be a welcoming city” Ginther wrote. “As federal immigration enforcement operations take place in our community, we want our immigrant neighbors to know you matter. You contribute to our economy, our culture, and the vibrancy of our city. We have your back, today and every day.
Ginther also linked to the city’s columbus.gov/allofus webpage, featuring “Know Your Rights” videos with closed captions written in Spanish and Somali.
The Columbus City Council made a separate video on Facebook, adding, “We stand with our immigrant neighbors. ICE is not welcome in Columbus, and the city will not aid the harassment of our communities. We will rally to protect one another.”
Sheahan responded that ICE will “continue to go into cities no matter if the locals want to work with us or not. …If the city of Columbus doesn’t work with us, well, that’s not going to stop us from going in and removing these criminals who have wreaked havoc on the American people for far too long.”
The Ohio Immigrant Alliance reported on Dec. 24 that at least 214 people, 80% Latino, have been arrested.
Dayton Daily News published similar figures on Dec. 26, noting that 137 people were detained at the Butler County Jail in connection to this statewide operation, per the OIA analysis.
Under Sheriff Richard Jones, the Butler County Sheriff’s Office participates in the 287(g) program with ICE. Butler County is located between Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio.
Jones recently made headlines when he made his own Facebook live video and didn’t hold back after an illegal immigrant and repeat DUI offender seriously injured a woman in a head-on collision that also involved alcohol.
The immigration surge has prompted the usual protests, with dozens of protesters gathering on Sunday outside of Cambria Hotel in Polaris to protest ICE’s presence in Columbus, WOWK TV reported.
Another group marched to the local ICE field office in Westerville, Ohio, before Christmas. “Deport the protestors,” wrote political commentator David Freeman, under the X account Gunther Eagleman.
The X account, American Education FM, shared several headlines from recent news stories, writing: “Every left-wing news outlet and newspaper is warning of the raids. Isn’t that obstruction of official military business? Can’t these papers be shut down for good and employees arrested for obstruction? Arrest them all!”
A story in The Columbus Dispatch opened with a sob story about ICE agents arriving at a hotel near Easton Town Center looking for a hotel employee. A New York Times article highlighted how the arrests were “stirring fear among Somalis and other immigrants,” while The Columbus Dispatch also reported how Columbus businesses were pivoting to keep customers home during the ICE presence.
