This story is part of CityBeat’s “ICE Age” series about the Trump administration’s crackdown on community members who are undocumented.
There’s a sign outside Binski’s Bar in Camp Washington telling U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB) officers what to expect if they go inside.
“IMMIGRANTS ARE WELCOME HERE. ICE IS NOT.”
Directly next to this sign is another that elaborates:
“ICE / CBP agents are NOT permitted to enter this space unless they have a valid judicial warrant. Staff and guests are NOT authorized to grant ICE / CBP agents access.”
Kiel Erdelac, owner of Binski’s Bar, told CityBeat the message to ICE is pretty simple.
“Do you have a warrant right now? Show me a warrant. You’re not allowed on the premises. Get the fuck out of here,” he said without hesitation. “Fuck being polite. Society is not the same as what it used to be anymore.”
As President Donald Trump continually ramps up efforts to deport as many noncitizens as possible from the U.S., local organizers are arming businesses with signage and knowledge to protect immigrant community members.
“We like to pride ourselves in being a community bar, so I will take a stand on that,” Erdelac said. “I think I have an obligation as a business owner to do that.”
From symbolic gesture to a preparedness warning
The signs in front of Binski’s Bar share a small logo at the bottom for the Cincinnati Practical Education Coalition (CPEC). The group is made up of about a dozen area food and beverage service professionals with a common mission to build working-class solidarity through shared education.
“Folks who are committed to mutual aid, skill sharing and that anti-capitalist rhetoric and worker solidarity,” said CPEC member Emily Spring. “We started as a group of bartenders and servers doing this because we have those conversations, even if it just looks like us ranting behind the bar over a beer.”
Spring and fellow CPEC member Tony DeFilippo got the idea for the anti-ICE signs after leaving a workers’ rights training at the Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center. Spring said these trainings are led in English and Spanish and immigrants are often the audience.
“They want it to be known that anybody that walks in that door has safety to not be questioned by ICE without that judicial warrant, or by the police in general without a warrant, and their folks are really trained on this,” she said. “So when we left that training that day, the sign is right there in front of our faces, a lot of us were like, ‘Something like this would be really cool to display at our own businesses.’”
She said the signs aren’t just there to protect immigrants working in Cincinnati’s bars and restaurants, but those grabbing a drink or dinner. Spring said dozens of restaurant owners have been asking CPEC how they can get a sign of their own.
“Because immigrants aren’t just working, they’re also coming and having a drink, enjoying dinner, they’re participating in our economy. And bar and restaurant owners, the majority at least that we have spoken to, do not want that to change. They don’t want people to come into their businesses and live in fear that they can’t have a drink without being arrested.”
Once CEPC started distributing the signs to small businesses, owners and employees were asking for more information on how to respond if ICE walks through their doors anyway.
“We got that question and didn’t expect to get it,” Spring said. “You know, we’re just like, this sign is more symbolic and shows that we are in solidarity with immigrants, and we’re going to do whatever it is we can to protect immigrants, and we just want to ensure that they feel safe.”
But after giving a sign to the owners of Spun Bicycles in Northside, Spring said she realized more training and information would be needed for businesses across the board.
“The owner there was like, ‘I don’t know what a judicial warrant is. I don’t know what it is that I’m supposed to say if ICE comes in here and asks questions,’” Spring said. “They were my first realization, personally, when I walked in there of like, ‘Oh, if businesses don’t even really understand what that looks like and what they can do, that could lead to an arrest, simply because they’re not aware.”
So a member of CPEC reached out to an attorney who compiled a one-page guide to knowing your rights if ICE comes to your business. Spun Bicycle owners Dominic and Judi Lopresi told CityBeat they feel prepared to defend their customers.
“I know exactly what to say now. Before that, I didn’t really know the lingo,” Dominic said. “Or also, some of ICE’s — I guess you could call them dirty — tricks.”
On June 3, ICE set an arrest record of more than 2,200 arrests in a single day, according to the agency. Trump’s Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has been pushing for an even higher daily quota, looking to set a minimum goal of 3,000 ICE arrests per day. To this end, senior ICE officials have urged officers to “turn the creative knob up to 11” by arresting “collaterals” — noncitizen immigrants encountered by agents while serving arrest warrants for others — according to internal agency emails viewed by The Guardian. Trump’s pursuit of mass deportations got a boost on Thursday when the House of Representatives passed Trump’s sweeping “Big Beautiful Bill.” The tax cut and spending bill, which is set to be approved by Trump, would significantly increase funding for ICE. The agency would receive an infusion of more than $100 billion through 2029, including $29.9 billion in additional funding to hire 10,000 new ICE agents.
Dominic at Spun Bicycles is worried about the immigrant community in Cincinnati – a group he sees often in his shop.
“We have so many day laborers that do not have cars, that use their bikes, and they can’t be without their bikes, so we’ll have to, like, do stuff on the fly,” Dominic said. “Crew leaders who know they have a good worker, they’ll come in with their worker and get them set on the bike so they can get to that job site every day – it gives me goosebumps – because they’re hard-working people!”
“Yeah, we use Google so we can communicate,” Judi added. “They also have their kids’ bikes. The same thing that we say about trans people, gay people, LGBTQ-everyone: you’re safe here. I mean, that’s the bottom line. This is a safe space for you. It always has been, always will be.”
Breaking down the one-sheet guide
The one-sheet guide is tailored for businesses, explaining the key differences between public and private spaces:
The level of access government officials have during searches depends on a space’s categorization as either a public or a private space.
ICE can enter public spaces. Public spaces are places the general public has access to, such as public parking lots, restaurants, coffee shops, libraries, etc.
ICE cannot enter private spaces without warrants. Private spaces are places the general public does not have access to like homes, private offices, and cars. Some places are a mix of public and private spaces, including restaurants. For example, the main dining room, bar, and guest restrooms would be examples of public spaces because the general public has access to those spaces. Private spaces would include any space the general public does not have usual access to including the kitchen, management offices, or employee locker rooms.
The sheet explains another key distinction businesses should know when dealing with ICE: judicial vs. administrative warrants. The guide gives staff and business owners enough information to know what to look for when ICE says they have a warrant:
ICE can enter public spaces in a restaurant without a warrant, but if they want to gain access to private spaces they need a judicial warrant or permission. (An “ICE Warrant” is not a valid warrant for arrest.)
A judicial warrant must be signed by a judge and specifically grant access to search the premises. A judicial warrant will list the judge’s name, the court they sit on, and the date by which the warrant must be executed. ICE officers may try to show an administrative warrant to gain access to search a private space, but it only gives permission to arrest, not search. An unreasonable search is a search done without a warrant by a government official, like an ICE officer. An administrative warrant will list Homeland Security and a specific person to arrest.
If ICE does not have a judicial warrant they can also get permission to search a private space. Permission must come from the owner of the private space or an authorized representative, such as a manager. Any other employee that ICE attempts to interact with should respond to any request for access with, “I do not have the authority to grant access.”
Finally, the know-your-rights sheet for businesses offers other things to keep in mind:
- Always try to slow the process down when dealing with ICE, don’t let them rush you or scare you.
- Ask to see the warrant – thoroughly read it – look for the judge’s name to make sure it is a judicial warrant.
- It is illegal for ICE agents to walk up to people and ask for their documents solely based on how they look or the language they are speaking.
- They need a judicial warrant to search or probably cause that a crime was being committed.
- In any interaction with ICE, you have the right to remain silent.
- Regardless of legal status, everyone has the right to legal counsel.
- If you are a witness to an ICE pickup, and the agents have provided a judicial warrant, record a video of what is happening and get information from the person being arrested: first and last name, emergency contact phone number. These will be needed to get them a lawyer.
So far, CPEC says they’ve distributed nearly 100 signs to businesses across the city.
“Spun Bicycles was the first to hang it, and I walked down there yesterday, and all four businesses that are on that side of the street on that strip have that proudly displayed in their front window now,” she said. “One business did it, and that empowered other businesses.”
DeFilippo said the signs aren’t purely performative – they’re reflective of an informed business owner who is prepared to protect immigrant employees and customers.
“It’s not like, ‘Okay, I put the sign in the door. I did my part,’” he said. “It’s like, ‘I put the sign up in order to let people know that I’m going to take this seriously and we’re going to do something.”
View or download the CPEC signs and know-your-rights sheet below:
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This article appears in Jun 25 – Jul 8, 2025.