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Competing Sanctuary Cities Bills At The Statehouse

Ohio Public Radio

The fight over how the state should deal with immigration issues has Statehouse Republicans and Democrats backing different bills. Ohio Public Radio's Jo Ingles reports.

The lawmaker working on legislation to outlaw sanctuary cities in Ohio is newly elected Republican Rep. Candice Keller. And she’s gotten some high-profile support from state Treasurer Josh Mandel. Keller and Mandel both back President Donald Trump, who has spoken out strongly against sanctuary cities. Keller’s southwest Ohio district went overwhelmingly for Trump. And Mandel has been relying on Trump-type rhetoric in the campaign he’s launched for next year’s US Senate race. Keller says she’ll propose her bill because she’s found evidence that sanctuary cities nationwide are full of Muslim refugees and have become havens for criminals.

 

“There are 8000 unauthorized immigrants with criminal records that have been treated by sanctuary cities despite the fact that federal authorities have been requested that they be turned over for deportations. And so in eight months’ time, 7500 new charges placed on many of those people, including child sex abuse. A lot of the culture and a lot of what we are seeing come in includes not only terrorism and crime but sexual assault, sexually transmitted diseases, child marriage, child rape and prostitution.  Six states have already reported rape and sexual assault.”

 

When asked by reporters, Keller could not elaborate on the basis for her statement.

 

Cincinnati and Columbus are among the communities that have passed so-called sanctuary city legislation or something similar to it. Officials in those cities say they did to provide protection for immigrants who have illegal status. Refugees, to which Keller was intermittently referring, typically have legal status already.

 

A day after Keller made her comments, Democratic state representatives Dan Ramos and Stephanie Howse talked about their bill. Like Keller’s, it’s still in the works. But it would, among other things, hold sanctuary cities harmless from penalties or retribution. But Keller’s comments were still fresh on Howse’s mind.

 

“When you talk about blaming immigrants and their culture for committing crimes including assaults and rapes and bringing in sexually transmitted diseases, this is a type of language that is dangerous here in Ohio. This is a type of language is dangerous here in Ohio. This type of language is based on white supremacy because what are you saying? Whose culture? Who is going to get raped? Representative Keller is from Butler County. I don’t know the demographics are to the tee but I can guarantee you the majority of the people in Butler County don’t look like me, don’t look like Representative Ramos and what you are saying is people who are different than you are causing a disruption to your culture? Where’s the evidence?”

 

Keller and Mandel cited the Center for Immigration Studies to back up some of their claims. However, that group has been criticized in the past by some liberal leaning groups as being biased against pro-immigration policies.  Other sources, such as a study published in the Washington Post, show there has been no increase in crime in sanctuary cities and in some of them, the crime rate went down.  There’s no word on what priority the sanctuary city ban has in the Republican-controlled legislature, but House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger’s office has said the GOP caucus take a close look at it.

 

The Statehouse News Bureau was founded in 1980 to provide educational, comprehensive coverage of legislation, elections, issues and other activities surrounding the Statehouse to Ohio's public radio and television stations. To this day, the Bureau remains the only broadcast outlet dedicated to in-depth coverage of state government news and topics of statewide interest. The Bureau is funded througheTech Ohio, and is managed by ideastream. The reporters at the Bureau follow the concerns of the citizens and voters of Ohio, as well as the actions of the Governor, the Ohio General Assembly, the Ohio Supreme Court, and other elected officials. We strive to cover statehouse news, government issues, Ohio politics, and concerns of business, culture and the arts with balance and fairness, and work to present diverse voices and points of view from the Statehouse and throughout Ohio. The three award-winning journalists at the bureau have more than 60 combined years of radio and television experience. They can be heard on National Public Radio and are regular contributors to Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Marketplace. Every weekday, the Statehouse News Bureau produces in-depth news reports forOhio's public radio stations. Those stories are also available on this website, either on the front page or in our archives. Weekly, the Statehouse News Bureau produces a television show from our studios in the Statehouse. The State of Ohio is an unique blend of news, interviews, talk and analysis, and is broadcast on Ohio's public television stations. The Statehouse News Bureau also produces special programming throughout the year, including the Governor's annual State of the State address to the Ohio General Assembly and a five-part year-end review.
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