COLUMBUS – January 21, 2026 –Last week, the Ohio Education Association (OEA), which represents over 100,000 public school employees, joined two local Columbus-area teachers unions in denouncing the recent surge in immigration enforcement by ICE in cities across the country. 

The Cincinnati Federation of Teachers (CFT) Clayton Adams, an Aiken High School special education teacher and vice president of organizing for the teachers’ union, says that CFT has spoken out against ICE before and maintains the agency’s operations are negatively impacting local schools. 

Adams told WVXU–

“We’ve seen a very serious drop-off in attendance from our migrant students. We, the teachers, feel like our schools, legally and ethically, are meant to be safe spaces for all students because public schools are required to educate all children regardless of their immigration status.

We also see our migrant students participating less in extracurriculars. They’re avoiding school events. That’s problematic, and it’s impacting the kids. This is hurting children that just want to go to school.”

The Columbus Education Association (CEA) and Hilliard Education Association (HEA) also released statements condemning Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity near schools.