Ohio is one of 11 states that have joined a lawsuit to reinstate President Donald Trump’s executive order threatening federal funding cuts to so-called “sanctuary cities."
The 11 states are asking an appeals court in San Francisco to enforce the order, which could punish cities that don’t cooperate with federal officials dealing with undocumented immigrants. Attorney General Mike DeWine said at a forum in February that cities need to follow the law, though the term “sanctuary city” has no legal definition.
“It’s a debate that, it inflames people. And we need to cool it down a little bit, and we need to get down to what people are really doing,” he said.
At least eight Ohio cities have passed ordinances on immigration, saying that complying with federal authorities is costly and risks violating people’s rights. Legislation to ban sanctuary cities proposed at the Statehouse in April has had no committee hearings.
