As Bernie Moreno’s gloating victory speech droned on and on like a used car salesman can do, Ohio looked forward to not one significant MAGA race but two, and the US Senate could shift if Sherod Brown were to lose.

It can’t possibly get any worse, but wait until Moreno floods local media with hateful anti-immigration ads. In a 2022 GOP Senate primary which he lost, Moreno spent what he described as the most expensive political ad campaign ever for an Ohio primary.

“They’re changing our nation. Let’s stop them,” Moreno said during the commercials. “Build the wall and make English our official language.”

Demonizing hard working immigrants is MAGA’s only policy – if it can even be called as such. Sticking up for immigrants – as diverse as Franklin County has become – of course will be the Ohio Immigrant Alliance, which once again will call on all people of faith and good conscience to denounce these attacks.

“Immigrants make enormous contributions and keep Ohio industries like agriculture, protein processing, and manufacturing alive,” says Ohio Immigrant Alliance director Lynne Tramonte.

“When you insult and denigrate immigrants, you are attacking our parents, co-workers, neighbors, family members, and friends,” she says. “Ohioans contributing to our state’s health, economy, food supply chain, and social fabric come from all backgrounds, including other countries. Immigrants are business owners, factory and farm workers, and medical professionals. Students, children, and future Ohio leaders.”

She continued, “I want to be clear: this is not about what immigrants do for Ohio, although their contributions are immense. It’s about who we are as Ohioans. These attacks show an ugly side of Ohio that needs to be eradicated, not elected to office. Moreno depictions of immigrants are rooted in stereotypes and insulting to all Ohioan.”

Ohio Immigrant Alliance organizer Maryan Sy points out how white immigrants in the distant past (and to this day) came to Ohio seeking work, which was often backbreaking and paying pennies. Consider how the slate and sandstone quarries in Grandview were dug out with sledgehammers and pickaxes by Italian immigrants during the 19th century. History tells us they were paid $1 a day for their work.

“We know that America is a nation built by immigrants, whether they came by choice or by force. From the 17th century when Europeans came to construct canals in Ohio through today, people born in other countries have contributed to the Ohio economy in a positive way. We should embrace and accept that we are a nation born from immigrants,” she says.