The Ohio Immigrant Alliance is building a protection plan for immigrants, because they are beloved members of our Ohio family. Ahead of Giving Tuesday, we invite you to support our “Ohio Is Home” campaign and help erect speed bumps and road blocks in the mass deportation machine.

Please share this message to donate and join our Ohio Is Home community. Sign up for our email list here.

When U.S. Senator J.D. Vance attacked Haitian-Ohioans and Springfield, we were angry, but not surprised. Some leaders want Ohio to be a narrow, closed place where only certain people get to enjoy safety, prosperity, and dignity. That’s not our Ohio. We launched #OneLoveOhio to showcase the beautiful acts of kindness and love that followed Vance, Trump, and other officials’ hateful speech and actions.

When Donald Trump became president for the first time, we stood with Black, Muslim, and other immigrants suddenly facing deportation after living in this state for years. At a time when the system tried to take their agency and deny them dignity, these immigrants and their loved ones stood up to inhumane treatment in Ohio county jails. Their bravery, and vital support from grassroots organizers and compassionate lawyers, ended two Immigration and Customs Enforcement contracts in Ohio during the Trump years.

Birane Wane is one of the Ohioans caught up in the first Trump administration’s deportation policy, targeting people from Black and Muslim majority countries. Knowing he had a deportation order hanging over his head, Birane moved from Columbus to Senegal before he could be formally deported. He’d seen what happened to his friends: after decades of living a quiet life, they were arrested by ICE, incarcerated in Ohio county jails, and suddenly deported – in Birane’s case, to a country with apartheid, slavery, and genocide. He saw no other alternative but to go to another country on his own and have some control over his destiny.

Imagine the strength it took for him to make that decision. 

“Almost 22 years living all set in one place. Almost half of your life. I miss a lot of things. Ohio is my second country,” said Birane. While living apart from his family, the worst happened. Birane’s daughter in the U.S. died. He didn’t get a chance to say good-bye.

That’s the thing about migration. It’s rarely an easy choice; sometimes you have to make a decision from a series of bad options. Instead of subjecting people like Birane to a racist immigration court, without a guaranteed right to legal representation, and an impossible choice if you are ordered deported, we need a system that recognizes immigrants’ inherent dignity and love for their families. One that facilitates access to immigration status and citizenship, so that they can remain at home.

Migration is as old as time. It’s a basic part of being human. And the people that Trump and Vance want to shun are some of the strongest, most intelligent and caring people in our communities.

So here are our plans:

Enact a protection zone across Ohio communities, because immigrants are an important part of our state’s dynamism, prosperity, and future. Ohio is home. We’ll be helping immigrants exercise their rights, organizing with partners across our communities, monitoring abuses, and taking action to protect Ohio immigrants.

Change the narrative about immigrants to one that recognizes their valuable role in building Ohio. Migration is an act of bravery and love. People who made the difficult decision to move to another country should have safe pathways for migration, and an immigration system that treats them with respect and dignity.

Bring Ohio together. Many of the people spewing hate have never met an immigrant, and don’t know what it’s like to walk a mile in their shoes.

Compassion starts with connection. We’re creating experiential programs that bring people from various walks of life together, so we can learn from each other and find strength in our similarities, as well as respect for our differences.

If this sounds like something you want to support, head over to the Ohio Immigrant Alliance donation page today, and make a difference today!