Local & National Media Outline Solution At Hand; Question is, Will Gibbs, Portman, and DHS Government Act On It?
Willard, OH – Jesus Lara Lopez, an Ohio taxpayer and father of four U.S. citizen children, is set to be deported on Tuesday. Lara’s children have been leading a campaign to ask their congressman, Rep. Bob Gibbs, to do everything he can to keep their father at home with them. A petition started by Jesus’ oldest son, Eric, was signed by over 600 of Rep. Gibbs’ constituents, and 35,000 other Americans.
In her latest piece for Medium, Lynn Tramonte, Director of Ohio’s Voice, describes how national and local media have dismantled some of Gibbs’ arguments against helping the children, and make it clear that there is an easy solution at hand. The question is, will Gibbs, Senator Rob Portman, and the federal government decide to act on it?
Find Tramonte’s piece in its entirety here, and excerpted below.
The federal government can approve Jesus’ stay of deportation, as they have done every year for the past five years, so that he can renew his work permit and continue providing for his family. Rep. Gibbs, as the family’s congressman and a member of the same political party as the president, has the power to ask them to do so.
As Lara’s attorney, David Leopold, put it in a piece reprinted by the Reflector:
ICE can put this matter to rest by granting Jesus’ stay of deportation, as they have for the past five years. It’s an easy solution that keeps a hardworking taxpayer and homeowner with his family…..
As Jesus’ children have made clear, their futures are inextricably linked to their father’s guiding hand. The Lara family’s U.S. representative, Rep. Bob Gibbs, Senator Rob Portman, and ICE should do everything in their power to keep this loving family together.
Of course there is also a need for Congress to update federal immigration law. This will take time, but it is absolutely necessary. Citing Jesus’ case, theCleveland Plain Dealer writes in a powerful editorial:
The damage this helter-skelter policy is causing to our economy and to our reputation as a nation of immigrants should force Ohio lawmakers to stand up and take the lead. We are calling on Republican U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce of Bainbridge Township, along with Sens. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, and Rob Portman, a Republican, to begin a bipartisan effort dedicated to creating a better immigration policy.
Meanwhile, Jesus continues to pray for intervention, and he and his children continue to welcome members of the media into their home — all in hopes that someone powerful will save their united family.
