Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents terrorized Columbus today, trolling parking lots and arresting people in various parts of the city. Officials with the City of Columbus, including the Mayor, City Attorney, Police Chief, City Council President Shannon G. Hardin, and Councilmember Lourdes Barroso de Padilla held a press conference to reiterate their support for immigrants who have chosen to make Columbus their home.
Officials laid out data that shows Columbus is safer than ever, pre-butting any potential public safety argument the Trump administration might muster. Instead, they said, immigration raids actually make our communities weaker. Mayor Ginther pointed out, “Leaders don’t create fear … they don’t pit neighbors against each other.”
They also stressed that everyone has rights. The Ohio Immigrant Alliance has a resource website, OhioIsHome.org, with information about immigration laws and rights for immigrants, service providers, educators, businesses, and anyone else who wants to learn more. We also operate the Ohio Immigrant Hotline, which members of the public can contact if they need help, have a question, want to report an abuse, or don’t know where to turn (419-777-HELP/4357 and hotline@ohioimmigrant.org).
Following is a statement from Lynn Tramonte, Executive Director of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance.
These chaotic arrests in our communities are not the way to enforce our immigration system. Masked agents are trolling parking lots and stopping people to demand their paperwork. This is a hallmark of fascism. The administration is intentionally trying to divide our community. We need to understand why this is happening and take a stand.
Let’s be clear. In many cases, the Trump administration is taking legal status away from people who have it, so that they can deport them. They are arresting people who are paying taxes, taking them out of the economy, putting them in an immigration jail at taxpayer expense, and deporting them at taxpayer expense. I know it doesn’t make sense, but that is happening. If you want to get mad, get mad at that. Get mad at politicians who haven’t done their jobs to update the immigration laws so that they are rational and fair.
Let’s also be clear that the president’s rant about people born in Somalia was pure hatred, and today’s show of force by ICE was an attempt to put that hatred into action — although many people of many backgrounds were harmed. Turn back the calendar 100 years, and people were saying the same things about the Irish and Italians. Have we forgotten this? The truth is, Somali-Americans are doing great things in Columbus and the United States. If you hate an entire group of people based on the place they were born, that’s called racism. And if you are sitting here hating immigrants, you are falling into the Trump trap. He wants you to hate immigrants so you don’t turn your anger on the real problems — the people who are profiting the most from this administration — the billionaires.
Terrorizing hardworking people is not going to fix the immigration system. Immigration reform in Congress is. A better approach than what we’ve seen today is to stop changing the policies on people. Let them be. For the immigrants who already have legal status, let them stay. For those who have a path to legal status and are pursuing it, let them continue to follow it. Don’t deport them while they are on their way to legal status, simply because you can. And for those who have been here for a while and are doing good things, make it possible for them to apply for legal status. Fix the laws. Don’t enforce a set of bad laws in such a chaotic and cruel way.
Migration is human. It’s something people have done since the beginning of time, and always will. We are glad immigrants are choosing to make Ohio their home, and help build this state. They are bringing energy, skills and talents, courage, and a strong commitment to faith and family. Making people afraid to leave their homes accomplishes nothing. Thoughtful implementation of laws that are old and out of date, and immigration reform in Congress, is what we really need.
