Ohio lawmakers are seeking to establish rules for when a state agency, such as law enforcement or the Department of Education, becomes aware that an individual they are interacting with is an illegal alien. It is currently unclear what state agencies must do when they are notified or become aware that an individual they are interacting with is residing in the state illegally while seeking state resources.
House Bill 42, sponsored by Rep. Tex Fischer, R, District 59, along with Rep. Josh Williams, R, District 44, is an attempt to clarify things and will require each agency to collect and maintain in their records the immigration or citizenship status of those they are interacting with and to annually report that data to the Governor of Ohio, who in turn will be required to submit a report to the General Assembly that summarizes the information collected.
According to supporters, the concern that has prompted the need for the bill is the accountability of state agencies to Ohio taxpayers when preventing fraud in state programs by giving resources reserved for citizens to illegal aliens.
Rep. Jennifer Gross, R, District 45, shares that concern and told Ohio.news, “Non-citizens should not receive benefits that are afforded to Ohio citizens.”
Critics disagree and argue that not only is this type of accountability not necessary, but they fear it will discourage legal immigrants from accessing state resources they would be entitled to receive. Critics are also concerned that the bill is a smokescreen intended to serve as an excuse to slash the funding of state programs they believe are already underfunded.
“I introduced HB 42 because Ohio communities have a right to know how many of their tax dollars are being used to support individuals who are not lawfully present in the U.S.," Williams told Ohio.news. "There are no civil rights implications in requiring agencies to report aggregate data. In fact, transparency is a civil right in itself. The case of the 24-year-old enrolled in Perrysburg High School highlights a clear failure in our system. HB 42 ensures we collect the facts and let the public see them—without violating anyone’s privacy.”
HB 42 explicitly requires immigration and citizenship records to be kept and maintained by all law enforcement agencies, the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, the Department of Education and Workforce, Job and Family Services, and Medicaid.
The bill has been introduced and is now being considered by the Government Oversight Committee. Gov. DeWine has yet to indicate whether he supports HB 42 or not.
