Ohio Resources: Immigrants, Lawyers, Advocates Available for Reaction and Analysis
Cleveland, Ohio – Tonight, President Trump will address a joint session of Congress. We expect a dark speech that is short on facts and long on fear-mongering against immigrants, Muslims, and refugees.
Lynn Tramonte, Director of Ohio’s Voice, said: “In direct contrast to Trump’s pessimistic vision for the nation, however, stand Ohio immigrants, refugees, and Muslims who will be watching the speech from their living rooms. These men and women consider America their home, and fully appreciate the opportunity, safety, and freedom that our country provides. They are also bravely standing up to the President’s slander of their religion and national origins, reminding us that the essence of our democracy is the fact that all people in the United States have constitutional rights, including the right to petition our government.”
Following are a number of Ohio resources and external resources to help you cover tonight’s speech.
PRE-, POST-, AND REAL-TIME REACTION
Ohio immigrants, lawyers, and advocates are available for interview before and after the president’s address. Contact press@americasvoice.org to arrange an interview with Ohio resources.
David Leopold, Cleveland-based immigration attorney and Past President of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, will participate in an analytical panel hosted by Cleveland’s Channel 19. Other guests include Amy Hanauer of Policy Matters-Ohio, attorney Subodh Chandra, and Shalira Taylor, Co-Chair of the RNC African-American Advisory Committee. Watch the speech on Channel 19 to view the panel live.
For other real-time reaction, follow @americasvoice, and Ohio resources @tramontela, and @mhildreth.
OHIO RESOURCES AND FACTS ABOUT OHIO IMMIGRANTS
New American Economy is out with a new resource, MapTheImpact.org, that provides extensive immigration data for the entire state, including breakdowns by congressional district. Their report on Ohio, which combines data with individual profiles of Ohio immigrants, is also available here.
RESOURCES ON TRUMP’S IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE POLICIES
News reports indicate that President Trump could issue his revised refugee and Muslim ban as early as Wednesday. His administration has been attempting to redraft the plan to meet concerns articulated by a number of courts, which have put a halt on implementation of the order to date. Why the delay in releasing the new ban? Because they are still trying to achieve the “same, basic policy outcome,” in the words of Stephen Miller.
Last week, a leaked Department of Homeland Security memo called into question the very rationale behind that “policy outcome”–a point that external national security experts have also been making. The memo says that citizenship/national origin is an “unreliable indicator of terrorist threat to the United States.” As national security expert Juliette Kayyem put it on CNN, a bit more bluntly: “There is nothing about President Donald J. Trump’s executive order on refugees that makes us safer or more secure.”
In addition to Trump’s disastrous refugee and Muslim ban, he has focused his first weeks in office on returning our country to the policy of mass deportation, and threatening states and cities if they don’t agree to become agents of Trump’s Deportation Force. But police have good reasons to object to becoming ICE–like the ability to do their jobs and fight crime. Even military experts are criticizing Trump’s immigration crackdown as “reckless” and .
Center for American Progress-Action will be fact-checking Trump’s speech live tonight via @CAPAction.
THE DEMOCRATIC RESPONSE
Democratic Senators and Members of Congress have invited immigrant, refugee, and Muslim constituents to attend tonight’s address. Among the guests are the American citizen children of Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos, who was deported from her home in Arizona earlier this month; DACA recipients from a number of states; refugees from various countries; Muslim leaders and activists; and individuals directly impacted by Trump’s January refugee and travel ban. These guests are also available for interview before and after the speech.
Astrid Silva, a national leader and DACA-mented immigrant from Nevada will give the Democrats’ official response in Spanish. Vox’s Dara Lind–an Ohio native–has written it “could be the most interesting speech of the night.” Watch Silva’s speech live on Univision and Telemundo after the President’s speech.
