Global Cleveland, a Northeast Ohio nonprofit dedicated to assisting international communities, will host a Post Election Immigration Symposium Wednesday to discuss the local impact of an expected immigration crackdown under the incoming Trump administration.
President-elect Donald Trump made immigration a key element of his 2024 run, campaigning on mass deportations of migrants and closing the border. He also said he would revoke the immigration status, called Temporary Protected Status or TPS, of Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio. In his first term, Trump signed in 2017 an executive order banning immigration from seven predominately Muslim countries.
Northeast Ohio and its leadership will remain welcoming to immigrants, despite Trump’s policy changes, Joe Cimperman, president and CEO of Global Cleveland, said Tuesday on the Sound of Ideas, a public affairs radio program.
“That’s where we intend to be next year, two years from now and until we get to a point where we have so many immigrants coming to Northeast Ohio that everyone knows that we’re the most welcoming place,” Cimperman said.
Earlier this year, Global Cleveland helped Cuyahoga County create its “Welcome Center,” which aims to help connect immigrants with resettlement services.
Wednesday's symposium will open discussions regarding how the election will affect Northeast Ohio’s international communities and immigration law, Cimperman said.
Speakers will include people who work with the region’s immigration communities and people with experience working with federal and local government from across the political spectrum, he said.
“There’s going to be honest, really good conversation with facts,” Cimperman said. "We’ve got folks from every single perspective and background, and I think what you’re going to have is the true picture of the benefit of immigration in Northeast Ohio."
Immigration is important to the region’s economic development and can help fill voids in employment, most notably for agricultural and healthcare jobs, Cimperman said.
“In the State of Ohio, we currently have 100 jobs for every 62 workers. We are in a severe workforce deficit,” he said.
Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronanye joined Cimperman on the Sound of Ideas sharing the desire for an increase in immigration to the region.
“From a message from the federal government, we are not sending the best message to the world, but all you can do as a local representative is be the best local representative you can be, and that’s what I’m trying to be as far as saying to immigrants, ‘You’re welcome here,’” Ronayne said.
The Post Election Immigration Symposium starts Wednesday morning at the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association’s Downtown Cleveland offices.
