Butler County

What remains in Butler County is a sign.

For years, Sheriff Richard Jones, of Butler County in Hamilton, Ohio, has posted and reposted a large sign reading “Illegal Aliens Here,” with an arrow pointing toward the county jail. First posted in 2004, it has come down and gone back up depending on the political climate, but never disappeared entirely. It sat in storage, waiting for the moment to return.

Jones, now in his sixth term, has made immigration enforcement central to his public identity. He previously partnered with federal authorities under a program that allowed the jail to hold people for ICE, ended that contract in 2021, and is now seeking to reinstate it. He says hundreds of people with ICE holds have passed through his jail on state charges. Supporters see him as direct and unwavering. Critics see the sign as inflammatory. (It is.)

As policies shift and administrations change, the sign finds its way back into the ground, its arrow angled toward the jail, reducing the people inside to something that can be marked, located, and singled out.

For the clearest detail and strongest finished piece, I recommend using cardstock and a cutting machine. Cardstock provides the stability needed to hold the fine lines and structure of the design. You can download the image directly from this site or access the full set on the Cricut website under the What Remains Collection. These templates are free to use for personal and community projects, but they may not be sold or used for commercial purposes.

To download the PNG file, click on the image to the left, open a new page and right click to save on to your computer. Alternately, you can visit the collection page on the Cricut website for all the files here.