Two Republican state representatives in Ohio introduced a bill Tuesday to ban sanctuary ordinances after the Dayton Public Schools Board of Education voted to become a “sanctuary school district” last week.
House Bill 169 was introduced by Reps. Niraj Antani (R-Miamisburg) and Candice Keller (R-Middletown), who said in a joint press release that the school district’s “new policy requires the school district to not cooperate with federal immigration officials, not allow federal immigration officials inside school buildings, and bans the collection of the immigration statuses.”
The Dayton Daily News reports that the school board’s resolution was titled a “Safe and Welcoming School District,” and affirmed that the district “shall do everything in its lawful power to ensure that our students’ learning environments are not disrupted by immigration enforcement actions.”
Under House Bill 169, “state or local government” agencies or a “political subdivision” would be prohibited from adopting “an ordinance, policy, directive, rule, or resolution that prohibits or otherwise restricts a public official or employee” from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement.
Additionally, the bill would prevent sanctuary cities, counties, townships, or municipal corporations from receiving “homeland security funding and any local government fund distributions from the state.”
“In the past few years, we have seen crimes, deaths, and other tragedies occur due to the policies of ‘sanctuary cities.’ These are reckless policies whereby cities tie the hands of the police from complying with federal immigration laws and officials,” Keller said Tuesday. “It is time for the citizens of Ohio to stand up for safer communities—not the usurpation of federal laws that then allow criminal illegal aliens back on our streets.”
Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley criticized Antani, who’s seeking a promotion to the Ohio Senate, for trying “to get points inside his base for some things that aren’t completely factual on the backs of Dayton students.”
“Dayton Public School Board members voted to create a sanctuary school district last week, incentivizing more illegal immigrants to come to Dayton,” Antani said. “We need to focus on improving the school district, and not providing safe harbor to illegal immigrants. I stand ready to help Dayton Public Schools improve their school districts, but will not allow scare taxpayer resources to be used to incentivize illegal immigrants to come to Dayton.”
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News, The Ohio Star, and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Candice Heller” by Candice Heller. Photo “Niraj Antani” by Niraj Antani. Background Photo “Ohio State Capitol” by Alexander Smith. CC BY-SA 3.0.
