Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) is one of the 26 Republican governors who signed a statement vowing to help President Trump in mass deportation efforts, report Alissa Widman Neese and Sabrina Moreno of Axios Columbus. But his office is framing things slightly differently from some in other states.
In addition to emphasizing a focus on public-safety threats, spokesperson Dan Tierney wrote that "State law enforcement is not a primary agency in deportation actions. Federal law enforcement is the primary agency."
The degree to which state and local law enforcement could get pulled into immigration enforcement — and away from day-to-day community safety and crime prevention — is a concern we’ve highlighted.
Meanwhile, community members in Painesville, Ohio remember the raids, fears and uncertainty among immigrants during the last Trump administration and are preparing for the next one, reports Joanna Slater of The Washington Post.
Veronica Isabel Dahlberg, head of nonprofit HOLA Ohio, said she’s again ready to protect her community alongside the elected officials, police officers and employers with whom she has developed relationships with over the years.
Immigrant communities also are anxious in nearby Cleveland, reports Grant Segall of The Land.
Ruth Rubio-Pino Siaz, who leads Mexican American community organization Club Azteca, shared her concerns for longtime immigrant residents: "They’ve survived and excelled and given back to this country. Many are elderly. Now they’re facing the possibility that they’ll have to go back — to what?"
Welcome to Tuesday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Dan Gordon, the Forum’s strategic communications VP. The great Forum Daily team also includes Jillian Clark, Soledad Gassó Parker, Clara Villatoro and Becka Wall. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected].
PRESERVING DREAMS — Staying in Ohio for another moment — national organization TheDream.US is still encouraging immigrant students to pursue college, reports Tonisha Johnson of Spectrum News 1. "These are undocumented young adults who came to this country at a very young age, and we provide scholarships for students in Ohio," said Hyein Lee, the organization’s chief operating officer. A scholarship for out-of-state schools is available as well.
BIRTHRIGHT — The latest good explainer on birthright citizenship comes from Andrea Castillo of the Los Angeles Times. And in his Kansas Reflector column, Max McCoy lends a state-based perspective on it. "A child does not choose the circumstances of their birth," he writes. "A newborn is perhaps the only completely innocent human being, thrust into the current of human events, full of promise but also uniquely vulnerable. What kind of society sees a newborn as a threat? Not the American society we know."
FAITH — Faith leaders are worried as President-elect Trump plans to end a longtime measure steering immigration enforcement officers away from actions at churches, schools and hospitals, report Jack Jenkins and Yonat Shimron of Religion News Service. "How are they going to execute these raids?" asks the Rev. Gabriel Salguero, president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition. "In ways that respect religious liberty and in ways that do not strike fear into children who are worshipping in Sunday school?"
ESTIMATES — In its nationwide population estimate set to post Thursday, the U.S. Census Bureau is planning a more accurate count of foreign-born people in the U.S., reports Mike Schneider of the Associated Press. The bureau will include more people who have entered the country "for humanitarian, and often temporary, reasons." Eric Jensen, a senior research scientist at the Census Bureau, said, "We feel confident that this was a good approach in order to make our estimates more current and reflect recent trends that we’ve seen."
