http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/n ... 191617.htm

Posted on Thu, Aug. 03, 2006

Ohio Republicans call for crackdown on illegal immigrants

MATT LEINGANG
Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Two top Republican lawmakers said Thursday they intend to introduce bills that would crack down on illegal immigration and make the topic an issue in the November election.

The legislative package, dubbed the Ohio Workforce Protection and Illegal Alien Enforcement Act, is vague on details. But hearings could begin in September on bills that would limit state-assistance programs for illegal immigrants and create a new investigative unit to probe Ohio companies that employ illegals, said Senate President Bill Harris, an Ashland Republican.

Harris and House Speaker Jon Husted said their goal is to have the Republican-controlled Legislature adopt the package by the end of the year.

The federal government has jurisdiction on illegal immigration issues, but states, including Ohio, are shirking their responsibilities if they don't act, said Husted, a Dayton-area Republican.

Republicans were not shy about making illegal immigration a campaign issue.

"We have to respond to the kinds of things that voters feel their government is not doing for them, and this is one of the things that we feel is important to respond to," Husted said.

Other parts of the plan call for ensuring that illegal immigrants are not eligible for scholarships or financial aid at Ohio's public colleges and universities, imposing a $50,000 fine on people who produce counterfeit identification and withholding state business for two years from contractors who knowingly employ illegal immigrants.

Democrats said the proposals are a knee-jerk response to illegal immigration and an attempt by Republicans to divert voters' attention away from other issues, such as funding for education and job creation.

"They know that they are promising something that they can't deliver because this remains primarily a federal issue," said Senate Democratic Leader C.J. Prentiss of Cleveland.

Illegal immigration has roiled parts of Ohio, especially Butler County north of Cincinnati, where some officials already have called for a new law allowing local authorities to expel illegal immigrants. It's also the home of State Rep. Courtney Combs, R-Fairfield, who has a bill to make English Ohio's official language,

Neither Harris nor Husted could say how many illegal immigrants are in Ohio or how many Ohioans are losing jobs that otherwise would go legal U.S. residents.

Bret Crow, a spokesman with the Ohio Board of Regents, said colleges already check Social Security numbers on financial aid forms to make sure assistance is going to U.S. citizens. The state also audits the forms as a backstop, he said.

About 12 million illegal immigrants in are the U.S., according to the Pew Hispanic Center, a nonpartisan research organization in Washington. Most illegal immigrants come from Mexico and are employed in farming operations, cleaning, construction and food preparation industries, the group reports.