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Leopold: Donald Trump’s Extreme Immigration Position Works Against American Values, Ohio Interests

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Yet Portman Continues to Support Candidate

In a new Medium piece today, nationally recognized immigration attorney David Leopold parses Donald Trump’s last two weeks on immigration in detail and concludes:

Rhetorical gymnastics aside, what’s crystal clear after Wednesday’s immigration speech is that Donald Trump’s ugly vision of America would rip American families apart, devastate communities, wreak havoc on our economy, and threaten our security at home and abroad.

That’s the dark vision Trump started his campaign with, and it’s the vision that remains.

The article, “Deconstructing Donald Trump’s horrifying 10-step assault on immigration, due process and other cherished American values,” illustrates how Donald Trump’s multi-faceted immigration plan would not only separate families but gut legal immigration.  Trump proposes reducing visa quotas and adding new “extreme vetting” and “ideological tests” to the process that make a hypothetical Trump Administration the moral and ideological arbiter of American values.

As Leopold says in the piece, Donald Trump “certainly doesn’t represent my values as an American, and I don’t trust him to apply a fair ‘ideological test’ to immigrants.  This is just another ruse to dramatically reduce immigration.”

In the wake of Trump’s speech–the most detailed he has ever been about his full immigration plan–came a mass exodus of members from Trump’s Hispanic advisory council.  They felt that Trump was simply pretending to listen to them while continuing to push his own hardline, anti-immigrant agenda, saying “He used us as props” and calling the advisory group a “scam.”

“Donald Trump’s Hispanic advisory council is shrinking following his speech in Phoenix, yet Ohio Senator Rob Portman continues to support him,” said Lynn Tramonte, Director of Ohio’s Voice.  “If Trump is elected, his immigration plan will divide even more Ohio families, and reject the innovation and job creation that immigrants bring.  His plan works directly against Ohio interests, yet Senator Rob Portman continues to support him for president.  It’s unreal.”

Immigration in Ohio has helped stem population loss and enhanced entrepreneurship.  Immigrants contribute to the economy in numerous ways, through their taxes, job creation, and purchasing power.  Cities like Dayton and Columbus are working to attract more immigrants to help boost their economies.

Yet Ohio Senator Rob Portman voted against comprehensive immigration reform in 2013, after playing a round of Washington games. He opposes common sense policies to provide temporary relief from deportation for some children of undocumented immigrants and the parents of U.S. citizens.  He has courted support from the business community and Latino voters in Ohio, while supporting a candidate who is clear about working directly against their interests.

As Trump touched down in Wilmington, Ohio this week, a group of local residents wrote in a letter published by the Wilmington News Journal: “Neither Wilmington nor the United States of America will achieve their full promise and potential if politicians succeed in dividing our communities.  We stand united in our rejection of all forms of hatred and bigotry.”

Said David Leopold, “Unfortunately for Ohioans, Rob Portman stands shoulder to shoulder with Donald Trump when it comes to cutting off virtually all legal immigration. The Trump-Portman tag-team assault on legal immigration would deprive our state of hard working immigrants at all skill levels; immigrants who help give Ohio businesses their global advantage, bring international renown to Ohio’s great universities and perform groundbreaking medical research at Ohio’s world class medical centers. If Trump and Portman get their way Ohio’s economy will be devastated.  That hurts all Ohioans.”