Photograph courtesy Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati
Across Greater Cincinnati, people of all religious backgrounds stand beside immigrants and refugees as a way of living their faith.
“We are called to serve fellow human beings,” explains Shakila Ahmad, emeritus board chair for the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati in West Chester. “Whether you are helping your relatives, or orphans, or those who are traveling, you are fulfilling your religious obligation.”
The needs of Cincinnati’s immigrants have increased exponentially during the second Trump administration, as some breadwinners have been deported and others have lost their jobs. In response, groups are supporting a new rapid response initiative, led by the Immigrant and Refugee Law Center, designed to mobilize quickly to support local families facing the threat of deportation or other critical needs.
The demand for immigration-related legal services increased 112 percent last year at Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio, and the organization served 1,800 clients in 2025. “We exist to serve the most poor and vulnerable, and immigrants are among the most poor and vulnerable populations,” says CEO Tony Stieritz. “We provide emergency assistance and do everything we can to put them on the path to self-sufficiency. We see this as essential and a calling from our Catholic faith.”
Photograph by Chris Von Holle
For the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, outreach can be as simple as writing postcards containing messages of encouragement for detainees in the Butler County Jail. “A lot of detainees feel lost and forgotten, so one of the most direct things we can do is to send messages of support and of prayer and to let them know that we know they are there,” says Teresa Phillips, director of the order’s Office of Justice, Peace, and Care of Creation.
The sisters and their supporters frequently engage in prayer vigils outside the ICE facility in Blue Ash, part of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati’s ministry of prayer for the immigrants in our community. “We don’t set foot on their property; we just go there to pray,” Phillips says. “We pray for the immigrants and for the people who are detaining the immigrants. We pray for a gentler understanding of the situations that immigrants find themselves in that cause them to leave their countries.”
Sister Judith Clemens agrees. “As Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, we are called to spread goodness in the world,” she says. “I believe that if Jesus were here with us today, he would be right beside us doing the same kind of work.”
The Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati offers a wide variety of services for people of all faiths, from a fully stocked food pantry to career training and employment opportunities. “We provide them with the initial resources they need to get their footing and offer the support they need to get a job or a better job,” Ahmad says. “People don’t realize how much immigrants contribute to the local economy.”
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