Immigrants & Refugees Come To Build Lives; Ohio to Benefit From Their Talent & Drive
Columbus, OH — The Dispatch published an editorial applauding Governor Kasich’s immigration stance and creation of an Office of Opportunities for New Americans today. The piece states:
We hope that, whether or not the cabinet-level position and advisory committee remain into the next administration, Ohio’s future leaders will share Kasich’s vision of immigrants and refugees — “new Americans” — as a source of strength and vitality.
Lynn Tramonte, Director of America’s Voice Ohio, said:
“Kasich’s vision of making Ohio a more welcoming state to new immigrants is the antidote to the President’s own. Trump appears to view nearly every immigrant–other than one he’s married to–as a potential gang member or rapist instead of the contributors, taxpayers, and parents that so many of us know.”
The editorial states:
Kasich is right to reject President Donald Trump’s warped view of immigrants as a threat to public safety and a burden on the economy.
The vast majority of immigrants and refugees come to the U.S. because they want to build stable, prosperous lives here — not to seek trouble and conflict.
With reasonable supports and a friendly welcome, their chances of fitting comfortably into American society are better.
While welcoming immigrants is the right thing to do from a moral lens, there’s also a clear public interest in bringing newcomers to Ohio. The editorial concludes:
As Kasich points out, anemic population growth — just 0.3 percent last year — threatens Ohio’s prospects for the future. Immigrants and refugees will be a part of that future; welcoming them and helping them become stable, prosperous neighbors is a much better and wiser course than demonizing and marginalizing them.
Read the Columbus Dispatch’s editorial here. Learn more about the contributions of immigrants in Ohio here.
