immigration

Gov. John Kasich says it’s not right for immigrants to be blamed for taking jobs away from Ohioans. 

Attorneys with the Dayton firm Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, or ABLE, are suing the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles for what they say is discrimination.

A new lawsuit alleges the state agency has unfairly denied United States citizens and legal-immigrant teenagers the right to their driver’s licenses or Ohio Identification cards.

The firm filed the class-action suit Tuesday in federal court, asking the court to consider changes to the state's policy covering minor driver's license and state ID applications.

The Trump administration’s decision to lower the cap on refugees admitted into the U.S. is calling into question the future of refugee resettlement in Bowling Green. The administration announced Monday it’s reducing the refugee cap to a record low of 30,000. The International Center of Kentucky was planning to resettle about 400 refugees this year, but now it may not be able to bring in even half of that.  

The Bowling Green-based agency is a volunteer group that relies on federal funds to resettle refugees. With less refugees coming to Bowling Green, the International Center will have to cut back on staff and resources.

A judge Thursday morning granted bond to several of the men arrested by immigration agents six weeks ago at Corso’s garden center.

The government accused them of being in the country unlawfully. The men’s bonds ranged from $6,500 to $12,000. If they can come up with the money, the men will be free while their cases move forward.

Where are they being held?

The men are at Northeast Ohio Correctional Center, a private prison in Youngstown that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been using for detentions since 2016.

The Trump administration has reversed a years-long decline in immigration arrests in Ohio and Michigan, sweeping up people previously considered lower priority for deportation, according to government figures and interviews with attorneys.

More than 100 people are believed to still be detained after immigration raids in Northern Ohio last month that garnered international attention.

Sunday the Bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland Nelson Perez celebrated Mass in Lorain for the needs of immigrant families, and for immigration reform.

The men arrested during the immigration raids at Corso’s Flower and Garden Center and a Fresh Mark meatpacking facility this month were sent to a medium security prison in Youngstown.

Brian Hoffman is an immigration attorney with the International Institute of Akron who was already working one day a week at the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center when about 130 male detainees from this month’s raids arrived.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich is joining the chorus of voices opposing a Trump immigration policy separating immigrant families at the United States border. Speaking on MSNBC Monday, Kasich blasted the practice.

“Think about this. Think about the fact that in our country, children, young children are being separated from their mothers and fathers. Could you imagine the terrifying effect on these kids?” he said.

Already facing a severe labor shortage, landscaping businesses that can't keep up with booming demand for backyard patios and fire pits worry that an immigration raid that rounded up over 100 people last week will make it even tougher to persuade Congress to allow more foreign workers into America for seasonal jobs.

Tax cuts and immigration – two issues that promise to define Ohio’s U.S. Senate race -- moved to center stage this week. WKSU’s M.L. Schultze talked with the Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown about the issues.

After a raid on Tuesday that led to the arrest of 114 undocumented employees — rounded up by more than 100 immigration agents, using dogs and helicopters — at an Ohio landscaping company, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials reported some workers have been released for "humanitarian reasons."

Meanwhile, immigrant rights advocates said minors and U.S.-born workers caught up in the sting were released after nearly 12 hours in detention.