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While Kasich and Brown Stress Bipartisanship and Humane Immigration Policy, Trump Implements Extreme, Un-American Agenda

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Cleveland, OH – On Meet the Press yesterday, two common themes emerged in interviews with Ohio Governor John Kasich (R) and U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH).  One, bipartisanship is key to progress on issues that Americans want resolved; and two, the Trump Administration’s mass deportation policy is inhumane and un-American.

Governor Kasich went first, stating: “You’ve got to build your coalitions from the middle out. And that includes involving Democrats. I mean, that is not a dirty word. The Republicans get to call the tune. But you just can’t do it alone.”

On immigration, he said he was:

worried and concerned about these ICE folks that go into people’s homes and they grab mom and dad and try to ship them out of the country and they leave the kids on the front porch…  [I]f they’ve been in this country and they have not been committing crimes and they’ve been actually building businesses and being part of their community, going and grabbing them and shipping them out, that doesn’t bring our country together.

Senator Brown talked about his outreach to Republicans on trade and agreed with Governor Kasich on immigration:

I think the border wall is ludicrous. I stand for a strong immigration policy because I want to see us bipartisanly do what we tried to do a few years ago even with President Bush and later with President Obama.  I want to work with Senator Rubio in Florida, I want to work with others. I listened to what Governor Kasich said. It’s terrible when we take people—when we are taking immigrants who have been here ten or 15 years and working hard, paying their taxes, active in their church, active in the communities, parents, and we throw them out of this country. Governor Kasich’s dead right on that. We have no business doing that. That inhumane policy coming from administration is just part and parcel of what he’s been for the last seven months.

In response, Lynn Tramonte, Director of Ohio’s Voice said:

Governor Kasich and Senator Brown are right: if we want to change policy, we need leaders who are willing to work across party lines to find common ground.

On immigration, there is bipartisan consensus among voters in support of a path to citizenship for aspiring Americans.  Instead, the Trump Administration is taking an extreme partisan approach, deporting Ohio moms and dads, and threatening the very ability of young immigrants with work permits under DACA to support their families.

DACA also has bipartisan public support.  It’s a win-win for both the individuals who achieve DACA status and society as a whole.  According to a new survey,more than two-thirds of DACA recipients were able to get a better job with better wages after obtaining their status.  This means an increase in tax payments as well, benefiting all Americans.

There are rumors swirling that the Trump Administration is considering cancelling DACA.  As with the Friday-night pardon of convicted criminal Joe Arpaio, doing so would be a colossal mistake that would divide America rather than unite us.

More on how Trump’s deportation policy has impacted Ohio, and the importance of DACA:

  • Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Sunday expose on how Ohio moms and dads recently deported to Mexico have been extorted and kidnapped;
  • Cincinnati Enquirer’s coverage of Riccy Enriquez’ case, a Cincinnati-area (NKY) mom who was nearly deported despite having DACA;
  • Follow-up from Plain Dealer on Jesus Lara’s deportation case; more coverage here; and
  • Statistics about economic impact of DACA on Ohio.