For Immediate Release

Joint Statement from the Democratic Party Chairs of Butler, Clermont, Hamilton, and Warren Counties

Ohio’s communities are strongest when we look out for one another. While the Trump administration governs through fear and division, Ohioans are choosing unity, dignity, and care for our neighbors. Every family deserves to feel safe in the community they call home.

Beginning this week, ICE activity is expected in Springfield, Ohio, placing families and entire communities on edge. These actions create fear, destabilize neighborhoods, and put children at risk - while distracting from this administration’s failures to protect healthcare, lower everyday costs, and support working families.

Springfield is not a headline. It is a community of parents taking children to school, workers showing up for their jobs, and neighbors caring for one another. Enforcement tactics rooted in intimidation force families into hiding, increase trauma, and disrupt education. No child should ever have to live under that fear.

According to the United Nations, Haiti remains in a deep humanitarian crisis. Armed gangs control large areas of the country, democratic elections have not been held in over a decade, and millions of people struggle to meet basic daily needs. Yet Kristi Noem and the Department of Homeland Security have determined that displaced Haitians no longer qualify for Temporary Protected Status, which is set to expire on February 3.

Allowing TPS to lapse clears the way for the federal government to target peaceful, law-abiding families who have built lives and contributed to Ohio’s communities. We have seen elsewhere how aggressive, militarized enforcement - including fatal civilian shootings - undermines public safety rather than strengthening it. ICE’s reckless surge in Minneapolis injected chaos into the city. Ohio does not need that kind of chaos.

Our cities and towns should be places where families can walk down the street, shop for groceries, and take their children to school without fear.

Immigrant communities, including our Haitian neighbors, strengthen Ohio through their work, resilience, and contributions. We stand with them and with all families who are being targeted simply for who they are.

As Democratic Party leaders across Southwest Ohio, we stand together calling for humane, commonsense policies that keep families together and protect children. Our demands are simple:

We call on Senators Moreno and Husted to support extending Temporary Protected Status and oppose actions that endanger families and destabilize communities. Allowing TPS to expire does nothing to make Ohio safer; it fuels fear, separates families, and undermines public safety. You have the power - and the responsibility - to stop policies that put lives at risk and disrupt our communities. Govern in a manner worthy of your positions. 

Signed,

Chairwoman Kathy Wyenandt, Butler County Democratic Party

Chairwoman Patty Lawrence, Clermont County Democratic Party

Chairman Alex Linser, Hamilton County Democratic Party

Chairwoman Kelly Sakalas, Warren County Democratic Party