Thread: State GOP targets illegals in Ohio

State GOP targets illegals
Party wants tough, ‘proactive’ immigration law; Latino leader sees persecution
Friday, August 04, 2006
Jim Siegel
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH



As Congress struggles with an illegalimmigration problem that has steadily moved up on Americans’ list of top concerns, Ohio Republican leaders unveiled a proposal yesterday to crack down on immigrants here.

If Republicans who control the General Assembly pass the legislation by the end of the year, Ohio would create an investigative office to ensure that employers follow immigration laws. The state also would seek a federal OK for local law-enforcement officers to arrest immigrants solely for being here illegally.

The proposal says that adults deemed to be illegal immigrants would not qualify for in-state tuition, scholarships or public health-care benefits, and the state could impose a $50,000 fine for counterfeiting identification documents.

In some instances, the Ohio proposal goes beyond measures under consideration in states along the southwestern border.

"We don’t know how big the problem is, but we want to be proactive on it," said House Speaker Jon A. Husted, a Republican from Kettering, who noted that he’s hearing plenty about the issue from Ohioans this summer.

"We know there is certainly a perception this is a big problem. We want to put in place safeguards in Ohio to make sure it doesn’t become a bigger problem."

But a state Latino leader criticized Husted and Senate President Bill M. Harris, R-Ashland, for trying to impose laws that he called a "persecution" of immigrants in Ohio.

"This is not the first time the state of Ohio has tried to make life difficult, if not miserable, for the immigrants in the state of Ohio," said Jose Luis Mas, a Columbus lawyer and chairman of the Ohio Hispanic Coalition.

"These are individuals who are here desperate to make a better life for their children. They are desperate to make this their adoptive country. Our laws do not permit them to do that."

Ohio legislators join those in other states who are tired of watching a Congress in gridlock over new immigration laws. They are offering their own get-tough solutions: The National Conference of State Legislatures said nearly 550 immigration-related bills have been introduced in legislatures across the country, up from about 300 in 2005.

So far this year, 30 states have enacted 69 immigrationrelated bills, many of which are designed to boost enforcement efforts. But some, such as laws passed in Nebraska, ensure that illegal immigrants qualify for such benefits as in-state tuition rates.

"This is not just a border issue, and it hasn’t been for about a decade," said Ann Morse, the conference’s program director for immigrant policy.

"We’ve gotten to a place of gridlock (at the federal level) where it doesn’t seem we can get any compromise agreement. So states are trying to look where they have authority to act."

It’s unknown how many of the estimated 11 million to 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States live in Ohio. Mas said, based on birth records, he estimates more than 50,000 undocumented immigrants reside in Franklin County.

In Congress, both chambers want tougher border security. But the House is pushing for stricter enforcement of laws on illegal immigrants and those who employ them, while the Senate is more focused on giving illegal immigrants already here a path toward citizenship.

Ohio Democrats said the immigration issue is too important and complex to give way to what they called an election-year gimmick.

"First it was (a Tax and Expenditure Limitation), then the capital-gains tax, now it is illegal immigration," said Senate Minority Leader C.J. Prentiss, D-Cleveland, in a written statement. "It would be a lot easier if the GOP just handed over their polling data and let us check off one by one what the next gimmick is they have in store for Ohio."

House Democratic leader Joyce Beatty, of Columbus, said, "This deserves more than gimmickry and sloganeering. Today’s proposal looks like another desperate attempt by the GOP to distract Ohioans from their own miserable 12-year record of lost jobs and missed opportunities."

Husted, anticipating the response, said, "Yes, it is an election-year issue because we have to respond to the kind of things the voters think their government is not doing."

Gov. Bob Taft generally supports the legislature’s direction on the issue, a spokesman said.

Husted said the Ohio Workforce Protection and Illegal Alien Enforcement Act would help the state economy because illegal immigrants drive down wages, take jobs from Ohioans and give some companies an unfair advantage.

But it’s unclear just how far Ohio can go, particularly in law enforcement. The GOP plan calls for Ohio to pursue an agreement with the federal government to allow local officers to arrest immigrants, and to pursue reimbursement for such action. But there’s little sense of how that would happen.

Some Ohio sheriffs, including those in Butler and Allen counties, already have been taking action to crack down on illegal immigrants and businesses that employ them. But some, including the American Civil Liberties Union, say the sheriffs are unlawfully enforcing federal statutes.


http://www.columbusdispatch.com/news-st ... A1-00.html

"We know there is certainly a perception this is a big problem. We want to put in place safeguards in Ohio to make sure it doesn’t become a bigger problem."

Speaker Husted, its not a perception this is a big problem, ITS A FACT!

"These are individuals who are here desperate to make a better life for their children. They are desperate to make this their adoptive country. Our laws do not permit them to do that."

That's because they are here illegally stupid!
Jose, who are you trying to kid? many illegals do not want to make this their 'adoptive country', they want to come here and milk the benefits at the expense of the American taxpayer.

But a state Latino leader criticized Husted and Senate President Bill M. Harris, R-Ashland, for trying to impose laws that he called a "persecution" of immigrants in Ohio.

Well what do you know, another Latino pro illegal immigrant support group claiming persecution of immigrants...pathetic.
Like many people in these groups, their IQ is obviously not much higher than a house fly (MOSCA)