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Residents want police, prosecutor to crack down on illegal residents
Sheriff, prosecutor say they need authority to deport undocumented workers

MORROW — Larry Gose never thought much about the issue of illegal immigration until he began seeing undocumented Hispanics in Warren County five years ago.

"I don't have nothing against immigrants. But I'm all for sending them all back if they're illegal,'' said Gose, 63, of Maineville. "They're a drain on our schools, they're draining our tax dollars and crime has certainly gone up.''Gose was one of about 170 southwest Ohio residents who attended a forum on immigration hosted by Citizens for Legal Communities Monday night at Little Miami High School. The group, whose members advocate the expulsion of people living in the country illegally and tougher immigration laws, was formed by the family and friends of Kevin Barnhill, 27, who was stabbed to death in Mason on Aug. 26. The men accused of killing him entered the United States illegally, police said.

This year, about 500 bills related to immigration have been proposed in more than 40 states, according to a survey conducted by officials at the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The issue has gained momentum as the number of illegal immigrants in the United States has soared to more than 11 million and as more Hispanics are bypassing traditional places like California for Midwestern areas such as Ohio, said Jeff Passel, demographer at the Pew Hispanic Center in Washington, D.C.

"Twenty years ago it was a hot topic, but it was only a major concern for a half dozen states. Now there are very few states where undocumented immigrants aren't readily apparent,'' Passel said.

The foreign born are drawn to Ohio's job market and the opportunity for a better life, said Ruben Castilla Herrera, of the Latino Leadership Initiative based in Columbus. He characterized those pushing for tougher immigration laws as racist.

"It's really about people who are afraid of people who are different, people who speak another language, people who look different. It makes some people feel threatened and rather than saying what's possible with this change, they're looking at the negative,'' Herrera said.

"Especially in homogeneous communities where they're used to seeing certain kind of people. It's really about racism when you get to the bottom of it. It's anti immigrant.''

Southwest Ohio residents say it's a legal issue, not about race. They also say undocumented workers are taking their jobs, driving long-time residents out of their neighborhoods and increasing crime.

Prosecutor Rachel Hutzel said her staff files felony criminal charges against an undocumented immigrant at least once a week in Warren County, which is about 5 percent of the felony cases filed last year. But she and Sheriff Tom Ariss said that once immigrants have been convicted and served a prison sentence, only the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement can deport them.

Federal agents are spread thin. There's 6,000 ICE agents nationwide and about a handful cover southwest Ohio.

Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones, who has become a national figure in the debate, has posted billboards threatening to arrest employers who hire illegal immigrants.

Jones told residents at the Warren County forum to demand politicians to pass legislation that gives local police the authority to arrest people in the country illegally.

State representatives such as Courtney Combs of Butler County and Michelle Schneider of Warren County said they hope Ohio House bill 654 will help. The bill bans illegal immigrants from getting public assistance and employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants from state contracts.

But Jones and others said the state proposal lacks teeth. They want federal officials to deport the more than 11 million illegal immigrants as soon as possible.

"What we're doing is saying that you can't cut the line. If you're here illegally you have to follow the process that's set. You have to get current documents," Schneider said. "And if you're illegal, you have to leave. If you want to leave your children fine, if you want to take them with you, that's fine, too.''

Diane Knapp, 63, of Lebanon, was the only voice in the crowd to say that approach is unrealistic.

"If you think 11 million people in the country can migrate to Mexico, what are they going to do about their children, especially high school, grade school children who are citizens (born in the United States). The children are (U.S.) citizens and I don't think that's going to happen, I'm sorry,'' Knapp said.