Today in Ohio breaks down how powerless Democrats are using strategic legislation proposals to make Republicans go on record about masked federal agents conducting abusive immigration raids
The abuse -- and killing -- of citizens by ICE in Minnesota has many states, including Ohio, debating how to stop the thuggery if the agents come to town. Ohio Democrats are trying to force Republicans to take a side with legislation that has been proposed.
They may be powerless in the Ohio Statehouse, but Democrats have found a clever way to force the Republican supermajority to take a public stand on controversial ICE enforcement tactics that have sparked national outrage. Democratic legislators have introduced a package of bills aimed at reining in potentially abusive tactics by federal immigration agents – measures that would ban masked officers, protect sensitive locations like hospitals and schools from enforcement actions, and establish minimum standards for detention facilities. “The Democrats have no chance of passing anything in the Statehouse,” Chris Quinn said. “But I think what they’re trying to do is embarrass the Republicans by taking this hugely popular issue – growing-in-popularity issue -- and put it in their face and say, ‘you should be speaking up against this. This is bipartisan. They’re abusing people who are peaceful. We can’t allow that in Ohio. What do you stand for?’” The simple tactic for people with no legislative power is the power of publicity -- forcing Republicans to publicly declare whether they support “masked agents and unaccountable enforcement” or stand with constituents concerned about civil liberties. Leila Atassi explained: “Democrats, they know these bills are unlikely to pass, but they’re trying to put down a marker spelling out what should be considered normal, lawful policing if ICE activity ramps up here and daring our supermajority to say out loud that masked agents and data sharing and unaccountable enforcement are totally fine with them.” The proposed legislation addresses numerous concerns about federal immigration enforcement, including preventing officers from wearing masks or face coverings, keeping enforcement away from “sensitive places” like churches and hospitals, protecting personal data privacy, and ensuring detention facilities meet basic standards for care. One particularly bold measure would reaffirm lawmakers’ authority to inspect detention facilities rather than taking federal agencies at their word about conditions inside – a direct response to concerns about transparency and accountability. The podcast hosts noted that the approach – using legislation as a messaging tool – might be the only real power Democrats have left in Ohio’s overwhelmingly Republican legislature. Quinn suggested local law enforcement should ramp up, too: “What I would love to see is the next time ICE does something like that for the local police to grab them, arrest them, and haul them off to the jail, because that would start to curb this murderous behavior of these guys.”Cleveland Council secretly doubles expense accounts with no notice or discussionwhere Chris Quinn hosts our daily half-hour news podcast, with Editorial Board member Lisa Garvin, Impact Editor Leila Atassi and Content Director Laura Johnston.
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