HAMILTON, Ohio — Linda Snow-Griffin grabs a box of Ritz crackers and gets out of the car. She hasn’t eaten lunch yet, but there’s a vigil to prepare for.
“I’m not an artist,” Snow-Griffin said. “But I believe families belong together.”
She writes that phrase on a piece of white poster board and then goes over it again in marker, so it can be read from far away. But when I pull up to Steve Holmquist’s house, his sign is already made.
Standing outside, he waves it around: IT'S WORSE THAN YOU THINK.
Holmquist describes himself as a "little punk rock." And the backpack he wears has a button with a meme-type picture of George W. Bush. There are thought bubbles coming from the former president: At least the war on civil liberties is going well.
“Authoritarianism and fascism are as old as baseball, apple pie and mom’s love,” Holmquist said. “I like to push the envelope a little bit.”
The 63-year-old is part of a grassroots group called Butler County for Immigrant Justice. The Cincinnati Enquirer called them “Suburban grandmas push(ing) back against ICE.” Next month, some members of that group will have been to 50 county commissioner meetings.
All in protest of the county sheriff’s contract with the Department of Homeland Security.
WATCH: We asked the sheriff about this in the video below
At first, Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones wants to talk in a conference room. When I said I didn't like that idea, a spokeswoman suggested a bigger conference room.
Eventually, the sheriff agreed to show me the jail.
The jail and its staff are the subject of a recent federal lawsuit alleging assault and discrimination against an immigrant who was jailed there. Allegations that the sheriff and others deny.
I asked Jones about the immigrants being held there for ICE. He started to answer and then stopped.
“You mean the illegal aliens?”
Later during our tour, I asked him if there was anything the Immigrant Justice group could do to change his mind about the ICE contract.
“No,” Jones said.
Last year, the county brought in about $4.4 million from that contract, according to our media partners at WXVU. He told us he's been doing ICE work under five presidents.
“When you come into the country illegally, that’s a crime — whether you like it or not," Jones said. “There’s nothing I can do to change what they see, so I don’t try.”
At the library, Holmquist pulls out a book called “The Other Trail of Tears: The Removal of the Ohio Indians.”
“This is kind of what we’re doing now,” Holmquist said.
He hasn’t been to 50 commissioner meetings, but he’s spoken at dozens of them in the last six months. Holmquist is preparing his next speech now. And he says he wants to talk about history. That's why he's here.
"It's probably one of the most patriotic things I could do," Holmquist said.
When I ask Snow-Griffin if she worries about not being able to make a difference, she laughs and tells me she thinks about that every week.
“But if we don’t do anything, then nothing is going to happen,” Snow-Griffin said. “Hopefully, we’re making some progress.”
She takes a deep breath before continuing.
“We’re doing everything we can.”
The group is organizing a vigil outside the jail Saturday, May 30. Jones noted in our discussion that he had zero protesters when the jail was doing the same work during President Obama's presidency.
"Tell these ladies and gentlemen the sheriff loves them," Jones said of the protesters.
