Correspondent photo / Sean Barron With a bullhorn in hand, Janet Cobb of Salem leads about 100 protesters in a chant during a peaceful demonstration Sunday in front of the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office in Youngstown.

YOUNGSTOWN — Ask Janet Cobb about the primary motive behind a peaceful protest and she will likely tell you it’s the absence of two words that are essential to American jurisprudence: due process.

“We’re unhappy that the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office signed a contract to house ICE (U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement) detainees,” Cobb, of Salem, said.

She was referring to an agreement earlier this month between the county and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which provided room in the Mahoning County jail for those ICE officials arrested. The contract will mean an additional $4.5 million annually for the county, Sheriff Jerry Greene said last week.

Housing the additional 95 to 100 inmates at the lockup will provide “a clear financial benefit” for the county and create “a bit of a rainy day fund for criminal justice agencies for when times may not be as good,” Greene added.

Times aren’t good as long as due process and the law are being violated in the process, said Cobb, who was among the estimated 100 community leaders, activists, students and others who took part in a peaceful protest Sunday afternoon in front of the jail on Fifth Avenue.

The Mahoning Valley Freedom Fighters’ three-hour demonstration, themed “Defend our Neighbors,” sought to call attention to what participants see as the unjust targeting of immigrants, flagrant violations of the Constitution, the separation of families and the need to defend the rights and dignity of all area residents.

“Our neighbors are being targeted. Our communities are being threatened. We will not stand by while injustice reigns, families are torn apart and voices are silenced. This is about standing up for the constitutional rights of everyone in the Mahoning Valley,” Cobb stated in an email.

Some protesters also were upset that 15 Youngstown State University international students and alumni members had their visas revoked a few weeks ago.

Last week, Cynderila Patrick, a 2024 YSU graduate who earned a master’s degree in chemical engineering, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio against the DHS, the U.S. Justice Department and unnamed YSU officials alleging her student visa status had been revoked unlawfully. Patrick, a Nigerian who now lives in Maryland, alleged in the complaint that she was denied due process and her rights were violated under the Fifth and 14th Amendments.

Specifically, the university’s Office of International Programs notified Patrick on April 8 that her Student and Exchange Visitor record had been canceled with no explanation or supporting documentation, according to the suit.

In a letter to international students, YSU President Bill Johnson said the university is working to help them “navigate this situation” and is reaching out to federal agencies and officials seeking further assistance for the students.

Cobb said she wants the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office to verify those who ICE took into custody and are being held at the jail will receive proper representation, fair hearings and due process. When customs officials break such laws, it can set a dangerous trend regarding who will and who won’t get due process, she added.

Another concern is that the Trump administration could target demonstrators, despite their First Amendment right to peacefully assemble, as well as their commitment to follow all rules, Cobb continued.

Grace Persing, a YSU senior majoring in anthropology, joined the protest a bit after it had gotten underway. She called the visa revocations at YSU “very scary.”

“I think it’s a dangerous precedent, so I wanted to show my support,” Persing said.

In addition, it is vital to nonviolently challenge the federal government to protest on behalf of individuals who are affected by deportations, along with those who have unjustly had their visas revoked, she explained.

It’s also important to raise greater awareness regarding the plight of immigrants and migrants who are being deported to a prison in El Salvador — a facility many are referring to as a concentration camp — Persing added.

Phil Kedrick of Youngstown voiced what he feels is the need for the county to revoke its contract with DHS and apply additional pressure to ICE officials.

“We feel that everyone deserves due process,” Kedrick said, adding, “We should pull back completely from this program with ICE.”

Early in the protest, Cobb, with bullhorn in hand, led protesters in a series of call-and-response chants. Among them were, “No hate, no fear — immigrants are welcome here!” “Say it loud, say it clear — refugees are welcome here!” and “No more cages, no more fear — ICE and hatred out of here.”