Governor DeWine discusses Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Ohio
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, while attending an event at Robinwood Lane Elementary School in the Boardman Local School District, took time to speak with the press on several topics pertaining to government.
One item that DeWine spoke to reporters about was related to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations, particularly when it came to Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian migrants in the state, and how Ohio is equipped to respond to ICE actions.
According to a report from the Associated Press, thousands of people from Haiti have been legally arriving in Springfield, located in Ohio's Clark County, in an effort to escape "unrest and gang violence in their homeland."
"First of all, we're waiting for [a] court decision in regard to the Temporary Protected Status. This was set to run out in the early part of February," said Governor DeWine.
DeWine further goes on to say that a federal judge has paused action on TPS, meaning that such status is still in place for Haitian migrants in the state.
To this decision, NBC News reports that "the Homeland Security assistant secretary for public affairs, Tricia McLaughlin, said the Trump Administration would appeal to the highest court."
"As governor, my job is to do everything I can to make sure that the public is safe. And so... I met with the police department, the chief of police in Springfield, I also met with the sheriff in Clark County... really, just to talk about if, in fact, ICE comes in, how we would handle that," said Governor DeWine.
DeWine goes on to say that although a decision still needs to be made in the case of TPS, in the event that the status is revoked for Haitian migrants in Springfield and ICE moves into the area, he wants to be ready.
"Our goal is to back up the local police. We back them up through the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) and our local police are well-trained, the sheriff's office is well-trained and our highway patrol is well-trained. So our job will be to do everything we can to keep the peace, and that is what we intend to do," said DeWine.
Governor DeWine went on to say that this response under those circumstances could happen quickly, as departments are already prepared in the event of a necessary response, though he is not predicting any kind of ICE action or decision from the courts.
