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Is Ohio  law on  illegal immigrants  too weak?

Sheriff and state rep. want bill similar to Arizona plan; critics fear racial profiling.

file photo Richard K. Jones

ENLARGE PHOTO

file photo Courtney Combs

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Is Ohio  law on  illegal immigrants  too weak?

Photos: Immigrants protest nationwide

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By Lauren Pack  and Josh Sweigart, Staff Writers Updated 12:00 PM Wednesday, April 28, 2010

HAMILTON — A local lawmaker and Butler County’s sheriff are urging the state to move ahead with immigration reforms along the lines of a controversial new law in Arizona that critics say creates a “police state.”

In a letter sent Tuesday, April 27, state Rep. Courtney Combs, R-Hamilton, and Sheriff Richard K. Jones urged the governor and leaders of the General Assembly to move ahead with stalled state immigration legislation.

Bills pending in Ohio include one, sponsored by Combs, which requires employers to check a prospective hire’s legal status or risk noncompliance with tax law. Others would allow local law enforcement more ability to assist federal immigration officials.

“We have illegals who are taking jobs away from Americans in this bad economy; they are scamming the welfare system and bringing drugs and the violence that goes with it into this country,” Jones said. “We have to be able to stop it.”

All of the proposals in Columbus fall short of a controversial Arizona bill signed into law Friday, which makes it a crime under state law to be in the U.S. illegally.

The measure — set to take effect in late July or early August — directs state and local police to question people about their immigration status if there is reason to suspect they are illegal.

Combs said the Arizona law works for Arizona. But before Ohio follows suit — which some lawmakers are considering — it should work on measures already in the making.

“We don’t need an Arizona bill, that’s not what we’re after,” Combs said. “We do need some checks and balances in Ohio. Lets get those done and then we’ll have some success.”

Others worry, though, about the role of racism and racial profiling in immigration measures that allow cops to stop people in the street and demand they show proof of citizenship.

“There’s no logical way, no lawful way, to determine reasonable suspicion of immigration law violation,” said Cleveland attorney David Leopold, president-elect of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

“It opens the door effectively to a mandate to racially profile,” said Leopold. “What Arizona has essentially done is tantamount to a police state creation.”

Legal immigrants fear tough laws lead to harassment

Some local leaders are calling for Ohio to enact legislation similar to a new Arizona law that makes it a state offense to be in the country illegally.

But some minority residents say they already feel singled out by local attitudes on immigration and Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones’ tough stance on the issue.

“The Hispanic community could contribute so much to this county and invest so much in it and they are stopped from doing that because of the way they are treated,” said Jose Salas, pastor of Iglesia de Dios church in Middletown.

“I have rarely experienced this form of racism,” said Salas, an American citizen born in Puerto Rico.

But it’s not about racism, said Jones and state Rep. Courtney Combs, R-Hamilton. In a letter sent Tuesday, April 27, to the governor and other state leaders asking for the passage of tougher immigration laws, they outlined their argument.

“The citizens of Ohio and the United States need their elected officials to make an effective stand against the illegal immigrant issue that is destroying our employment opportunities,” they wrote. “Providing funds to the illegal immigrants is draining the public assistance and social agency coffers as well.”

“The morale of your constituents is in a downward spiral.”

They urged action on several bills pending in the General Assembly.

One, proposed by Combs, would require public and private employers to check the Social Security numbers of new hires against the free E-Verify system to make sure they’re in the country legally.

Another bill that passed the Republican-controlled Senate and is stuck in the Democrat-dominated House was proposed by state Sen. Gary Cates, R-West Chester Twp. That bill would allow local law enforcement across the state to assist federal officials in enforcing immigration laws.

'Why not have us all working together?’

Butler County is one of few in the state that already partners with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to aid in immigration enforcement. But that only allows deputies to help when ICE requests it. It does not give them the authority to question or detain people about their immigration status — a federal, civil matter — as the Arizona law does.

Jones recently settled a lawsuit with an illegal immigrant who claimed deputies overstepped their bounds by detaining him at a construction site in 2007, costing the county $100,000.

Giving local law enforcement officers the authority, with proper training, to ask for proper documentation from someone who already is stopped for a violation is an important tool, Jones said.

“This is nothing new. It is already federal law, but now only federal agents have the power,” Jones said.

'It’s just plain wrong’

That partnership already has its critics. They say an Arizona-like expansion — which is currently being challenged in federal court, and being considered in the Ohio General Assembly — would be a mistake.

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