Building Ohio Together

Cydni Elledge for NBC News

Ohio is our home and we are building it together. The following leaders understand that immigrants are, and always will be, valued members of Ohio communities. 

Ohio Legislative Black Caucus Treasurer Dontavius L. Jarrells (D-Columbus) 

“Whether this nation will continue repeating what it has already lived through, or whether it will finally choose something higher. Black communities have survived generations shaped by displacement, uncertainty, and state-sanctioned harm. And yet, we are still here because we learned how to endure. But endurance was never meant to be the end of the story. That is why the Ohio House Democratic Caucus and the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus stand ready to walk alongside our Haitian brothers and sisters and their families, because our history demands it. We know that freedom fragmented is ultimately freedom denied. We are committed to building an Ohio where no family’s future is governed by fear, and no one’s humanity is ever treated as temporary.”

House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn (D-Cincinnati) 

“We are all less safe because of what is happening in Minneapolis, here in Ohio, and across the country. We are all less free when the government tramples the rights of citizens and lies about it. And we are all less secure when there are no consequences. We cannot tolerate a federal enforcement strategy that treats communities like battlefields and people like expendable statistics. Ohioans need elected officials who work to make their lives more affordable, ensuring they will have access to healthcare when they are sick, food when they are hungry, and heat when it gets cold. We have to enforce our laws without resorting to lawlessness from ICE officers. We need order restored to our communities. Americans deserve to live free from the fear of government violence.”

Ohio Immigrant Alliance Executive Director Lynn Tramonte

“Everyone deserves to live in a safe community. That’s why people born in Haiti and other countries made the difficult decision to move here. They’re taking care of their families and that’s something to be proud of. ICE and the Border Patrol activity only creates pain, hurts businesses, and harms children. Ohio leaders need to do their jobs and join us in protecting our community. People who immigrated here from other places have already shown tremendous strength and courage. Now it’s time for those of us who were born here to be brave. Stand up to the federal invasion of Ohio and protect our community members by organizing, supporting each other, speaking out, and taking action. That is how we emerge from this unnecessary invasion stronger and more united.”

Columbus Dispatch Editorial Board, “Not 'filthy, dirty, disgusting.' Trump's cruelty to Haitians despicable”

“Immigrants are good neighbors who work hard and contribute culturally and economically. There is no reason people who have done nothing wrong should be penalized or that Ohio businesses should suffer due to their absence. We should all be appalled that our president has demeaned them and longs to discard them.”

New York Times Columnist Michelle Goldberg, “In Ohio, I Caught a Glimpse of the New Resistance”

“Springfield … has been given new life by immigrants. A once-thriving manufacturing hub, its fortunes so collapsed that in 2012 it was regularly called the unhappiest city in America. In 2014, seeking to stem population decline, the city launched its ‘Welcome Springfield’ campaign to attract immigrants. Haitians, many of whom had been given TPS status after a devastating 2010 earthquake, responded. As new manufacturing jobs were created in the city, more immigrants followed. Many Haitians who settled in Springfield had children. The city stopped shrinking; in 2023, there was a tiny population increase.”

Haitian Immigrant Marc Rocher, “He fled Haiti and became integral to a conservative community. Now they’re fighting his deportation” (NBC News)

“We’re all people, and if you only put your differences aside — political and cultural — and get to know people and live among them, everything is possible. I feel like a lot of this has helped change the dynamics of people, a lot of them want to help. A lot of them want the Haitian community to still be among them, which is a good thing.”