Hamilton father of five detained by ICE in front of his children, family says; petition seeks release on bond
File photo: Ohio NewsA Hamilton father of five was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents outside his home on Friday, in front of his children, his family says — and on Tuesday his family launched a public petition asking that he be released on bond while his immigration case moves forward.
Alberto Lira Razo had just driven his daughter home from school because she felt sick, according to the petition published Tuesday. Minutes later, ICE agents were pulling him out of his van outside the family's home in Hamilton, Ohio. He was taken to the Butler County Jail.
His daughter Yulianna, who filmed the encounter, says she watched agents break the van's window, tase her father and drag him out — and push her away as she tried to reach him and her 4-year-old brother, according to the family's account reported by Cincinnati station WCPO 9.
His wife, Moriah, told WCPO that Alberto has called the United States home since he was 16, and that the family has worked for more than a decade to sort out his immigration status. He is the family's only earner, supporting his wife and five children. "They're traumatized. They're upset. They can't sleep," Moriah Lira told the station.
ICE says Alberto has a criminal record and refused officers' commands during the arrest, according to the petition. His family says he has no criminal history. An attorney is now working on his case, the petition says.
The petition asks the director of ICE's Detroit Field Office, which oversees arrests in Ohio, and the immigration judge assigned to his case to let Alberto go home on bond while the case proceeds — and to keep his wife and children informed about where he is and what comes next. "Five kids are waiting for their father to come home," the petition says.
WCPO said it had reached out to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for comment and had not yet heard back.
The arrest comes as immigration enforcement draws fresh scrutiny across Ohio. Separately on Tuesday, state Rep. Tristan Rader (D-Lakewood) condemned recent ICE raids in and around Lakewood and western Cleveland, saying community reports described arrests at workplaces and residential buildings, and constituents had contacted his office about frightened children and missing family members.
Sources: WCPO 9, "Hamilton family demands answers after father of 5 detained by ICE, daughter says agents tased him" (Nov. 7, 2026); Change.org, "Release Beloved Hamilton Father of Five Alberto Lira Razo on Bond" (Nov. 10, 2026); Ohio House of Representatives, "Rep. Rader Condemns ICE Raids in Northeast Ohio" (Nov. 10, 2026).
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