DeMora Condemns Racist Anti-Immigrant Bill

Today, state Senator Bill DeMora (D-Columbus) forcefully condemned the Ohio Senate's shameful passage of the racist Senate Bill 172, legislation that strips fundamental constitutional rights from immigrants and authorizes systematic racial profiling across Ohio.

"Senate Bill 172 is racist, plain and simple. This despicable legislation gives a green light to vigilante enforcement and state-sponsored harassment of anyone who looks or sounds 'foreign' to bigoted enforcers,” said DeMora. “When you allow unidentified masked agents to snatch any person in Ohio without evidence, without due process, and without recourse – just as long as they claim to 'suspect' undocumented status – you have legalized racial profiling and created a police state."

Senate Bill 172:

• authorizes systematic racial profiling by significantly expanding state authority over immigration enforcement and prohibiting any local ordinance, rule, or official action that limits cooperation with federal immigration authorities;
• eliminates due process protections by allowing action to be taken against individuals not only for unlawful presence but also based solely on suspicion, without evidence or legal findings;
• violates sanctuary traditions by applying enforcement even in sacred spaces such as places of worship, courthouses, schools, and community centers;
• criminalizes compassion by forbidding public officials from protecting or shielding undocumented individuals, even in emergencies or humanitarian cases; and
• protects vigilante enforcement by shielding individuals from penalty if they act "in good faith" under the bill, even if their actions conflict with local laws or terrorize communities.

Senate Bill 172 now heads to the Ohio House of Representatives for consideration.

Knowing your rights as an immigrant is essential in keeping our immigrant families safe. See resources here.