Dems could hurt Ohioans with government shutdown, RNC says

Ohioans could face the negative outcomes of the Democrats shutting down the government again, but this time to protest the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents’ activity in Minnesota.

In a release, Republican National Committee spokeswoman Delanie Bomar accused House Democrats of threatening a government shutdown by attempting to restrict ICE from performing removals of what Bomar described as “violent illegal criminals.”

Bomar added that such a move would amount to opposing law enforcement and would strain essential services if funding lapses, citing potential impacts ranging from missed paychecks to disruptions to SNAP benefits, small-business loans, and air travel, which Ohioans experienced during last year’s shutdown.

“If Democrats shut down the government to block ICE from doing its job, they are openly opposing law enforcement,” Bomar said in a statement. “Silence isn’t an option: do Greg Landsman, Marcy Kaptur, and Sherrod Brown stand with the officers protecting our communities or with the radical Left pushing a shutdown to handcuff them?”

Bomar challenged Ohio Democrats – U.S. Reps. Greg Landsman and Marcy Kaptur, as well as U.S. Senate candidate Sherrod Brown.
“Silence isn’t an option: do Greg Landsman, Marcy Kaptur, and Sherrod Brown stand with the officers protecting our communities or with the radical Left pushing a shutdown to handcuff them?” she wrote.

A faction of Democratic lawmakers has indeed signaled a willingness to use the Department og Homeland Security budget process to pursue changes to immigration enforcement, according to multiple news outlets, including Axios and The Hill. The desire to “handcuff ICE,” as Bomar put it in her press release, was fueled by an ICE officer recently fatally shooting a woman, Renee Good, in Minneapolis.

Meanwhile, the Columbus Education Association condemned what it called the “occupation” of American cities by ICE and other federal agencies, responding to a surge of immigration enforcement activity during the holidays and graphic reports of federal enforcement near schools in Minneapolis, according to CEA’s press release shared with Ohio.News.

“Let’s be clear, unidentified masked federal agents with assault rifles grabbing our neighbors off the street based on nothing more than the color of their skin or their accent flies in the face of the American values we teach and makes our schools and cities less safe,” John Coneglio, CEA President, said. “As educators, our priorities are the safety of our students and providing a world-class education regardless of nationality or immigration status. The current federal campaign of fear and terror makes our jobs far more difficult.”

Coneglio also warned that fear of ICE activity has already contributed to significant drops in school attendance and pledged the association’s involvement with the Columbus Education Justice Coalition to safeguard students, regardless of their immigration status.

“CEA encourages all Columbus residents to reach out to CEJC and get involved with efforts to maintain the safety of our local schools and neighborhoods,” the press release said.