That cold comfort was reinforced in answers the Dayton Daily News received after reaching out to Ohio’s two U.S. senators and U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Dayton, with questions about whether legal pathways to residency and citizenship should be protected amid the current debate over immigration.
Turner declined to comment. Last year, he called on the Biden administration to cancel a migrant program that brought Haitians, Venezuelans, Cubans and Nicaraguans to the U.S. Turner also called on the federal government to funnel resources to Springfield to address the reported strain on the city’s resources due to a population influx.
Prior to redistricting earlier this year, Turner’s district included the city of Springfield.
Temporary Protected Status is expected to expire for thousands of Haitian immigrants in Clark County come February, and many of those immigrants have filed asylum applications to attempt to stay in the U.S. legally.
U.S. Sen. Jon Husted’s office was the one that allegedly told Springfield immigration advocates that asylum seekers could be rounded up and placed in detention facilities.
When asked for clarification and Husted’s stance on immigration, a spokesperson from his office sent the following.
“Senator Husted believes people should be able to immigrate to this country legally. Any constituent who would like to share their thoughts or concerns on any topic is able to do so when they contact Senator Husted’s office.”
Husted’s office confirmed that a meeting with Springfield-area advocates occurred in recent months.
“During a meeting with local advocates, our team listened to their concerns and discussed the group’s TPS designation while emphasizing the importance of having a plan to ensure they are complying with the law and federal regulations,” according to the spokesperson.
Officials with Advocates for Basic Legal Equality have suggested Husted’s office is trying to scare people into relinquishing their rights and self-deporting.
The office of U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno did not return requests for comment about what priorities they feel should exist for immigration policy, what obstacles they believe are in the pathway toward legal immigration and what changes they believe could benefit the country.
Moreno — an immigrant from Colombia — recently introduced a bill that aims to end dual citizenship. His bill would require dual citizens to renounce their foreign citizenship or U.S. citizenship within a year of the bill’s enactment, with those refusing to do so being automatically stripped of their U.S. citizenship.
“One of the greatest honors of my life was when I became an American citizen at 18, the first opportunity I could do so,” said Moreno in a press release about the bill. “It was an honor to pledge an Oath of Allegiance to the United States of America and ONLY to the United States of America! Being an American citizen is an honor and a privilege — and if you want to be an American, it’s all or nothing. It’s time to end dual citizenship for good.”
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