Cleveland City Council made a joint statement Wednesday afternoon showing support for immigrants in the city amidst what council called a “wake of attacks on immigrant families.”
“Cleveland City Council is committed to ensuring Cleveland’s residents, visitors, and businesses enjoy safety, freedom, and resources to improve their economic status. The recent, deliberate targeting of Latino residents nationwide - and in our region - is a direct threat to these goals,” the statement reads.
In its second term, the Trump administration has pushed to crack down on illegal immigration and reworked the legal immigration system. Word of stepped-up U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement enforcement actions nationwide coupled with the reports of local immigration arrests, which spread quickly on social media, left many in Northeast Ohio migrant communities fearful.
Council pointed to Moses Cleaveland, the city’s namesake, as an immigrant and said that every ward, neighborhood and community in the city is impacted by immigrants.
Cleveland was born in Canterbury, Connecticut in 1754 before the American Revolution, according to the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History.
“Cleveland City Council is committed to ensuring Cleveland’s residents, visitors, and businesses enjoy safety, freedom, and resources to improve their economic status. The recent, deliberate targeting of Latino residents nationwide - and in our region - is a direct threat to these goals,” said Council President Blaine Griffin.
At last week’s city council meeting, Ward 14 Councilmember Jasmin Santana spoke out against what she called a targeted effort against Latinos. Her ward, includes the Clark-Fulton neighborhood home to a sizeable Latino community.
“These detainments – sometimes without legal warrants - directly impact families in our city. What affects one, affects all. We cannot and will not idly sit by as our neighbors, friends, and families face these threats,” Santana in the statement issued Wednesday. “These migrants must be given due process and access to adequate legal representation.”
The statement provided a link to resources for those concerned about possible ICE enforcement action, including information on how to read warrants, constitutional rights and where to get legal assistance.
Council joins Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne and Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb in offering statements of support for Northeast Ohio immigrant communities. Last week, Bibb said Cleveland police will not enforce federal immigration law.
