COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — On Tuesday, three Ohio state legislators — State Rep. Christine Cockley (D-Columbus), State Rep. Mark Sigrist (D-Grove City), and State Sen. Bill DeMora (D-Columbus) — sent an urgent letter to Annete Chambers-Smith, director of the Ohio Department of Corrections, requesting the implementation of immediate health and safety improvements for the Butler County Jail.
The jail on Hanover Street, in Hamilton, serves as a temporary detention center for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to hold subjects as they continue Operation Buckeye — a surge of arrests in Columbus targeting suspected illegal immigrants spurred heavily by the Trump Administration.
It has been the source of ongoing investigations into overcrowding issues since before Operation Buckeye began in December 2025, including reports that inmates were denied proper nutrition and forced to eat “Warden Burgers,” made of substandard scraps instead, according to the letter…