Springfield’s immigration situation cropped up in the news again this week, anti-abortion lawmakers in Ohio are taking a new tact, and the Supreme Court delivered a seminal ruling on gender affirming care bans this week.
I’ll have details on all that and much more in this week’s edition. As always, I’m more than happy to take questions, tips, or concerns. I can be reached at Avery.Kreemer@coxinc.com or on X at @AveryKreemer.
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Springfield preps for ICE action after Trump rant
• The story: Springfield Mayor Rob Rue said the city will not “stand in the way” of federal immigration enforcement, but urged for immigrants to be treated fairly, following a scathing social media post from President Donald Trump last week.
• The post: On Truth Social, Trump said of immigrants: “They have stolen American jobs, consumed billions of dollars in free welfare, and turned once idyllic communities, like Springfield, Ohio, into Third World nightmares. I campaigned on, and received a historic mandate for, the largest mass deportation program in American history.”
• Rue’s rebuttal: “The fact that the president cannot keep our city out of his mouth means that I know that he’s not forgotten us, and so I’m concerned what that outcome will be,” said Rue, a Republican, at this week’s commission meeting. “We want to live in peace and freedom and we do the best we can.”
• Federal enforcement: Trump and the Department of Homeland Security in the past month have sped up efforts to deport more immigrants, in part by revoking certain people’s status. The vast majority of Haitian immigrants in Springfield are believed to have entered the United States on humanitarian parole — a then-legal program that Trump’s team has since ended — and many have received other immigration designations such as Temporary Protected Status.
2 area lawmakers aim to ‘entirely abolish abortion’ in Ohio
• The story: Two Dayton-area GOP lawmakers introduced a bill this week that seeks to make nearly all abortions illegal in Ohio.
• The bill:House Bill 370, titled the “Ohio Prenatal Equal Protection Act,” would make Ohio law “acknowledge the sanctity of innocent human life, created in the image of God, which should be equally protected from the beginning of biological development to natural death.”
• The method: The bill, if passed, would try to extend civil and criminal protections beginning at the point of conception instead of beginning at birth. Doing so would make abortions an act of homicide and, as the bill reads, “entirely abolish abortion in this state,” except for instances where the mother’s life is at risk.
• Obstacle: It’s not clear exactly how the bill would interact with Ohio’s newest constitutional amendment, passed by 57% of voters in 2023, which protects abortion access up to the point of fetal viability.
• Potential workaround: H.B. 370 would try to sidestep the state’s fundamental law protecting abortion by deferring to the U.S. Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment, which asserts that the state shall not “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
• Foley plea: Montgomery County Clerk of Courts pleaded no contest to a felony charge of misuse or unauthorized use of a computer and a misdemeanor charge of solicitation of campaign contributions and will remain in his elected office. Sydney Dawes has the story.
• Clean campaign: Some Dayton candidates are challenging their opponents in the mayor and commission races to pledge to run a “clean campaign” for the November election cycle that refrains from negative personal attacks and mudslinging after attack ads in the last cycle. Cornelius Frolik has the story.
• Oversight admission: Vandalia’s city law director says he missed critical details that would have ensured residents’ recent referendum petitions met Ohio Revised Code standards so their ballot issue would have qualified for the November election. Aimee Hancock has the story.
State political news of the week
• School funding: The Senate version of the state budget bill provides more funding to K-12 schools than the House version, but some school districts could see significant cuts to their district funding over two years under the Senate version, according to an analysis from this news outlet. Here’s Eileen McClory.
• Fair warning?: A bill approved by the Ohio House voted this week would increase the penalty for obstructing cops, firefighters and EMTs from performing their legal duties, but people could only be charged after receiving and ignoring an initial warning. Here’s my story.
• ‘Draconian’ proposal: An Ohio House bill aimed at saving property tax owners by eliminating inside millage has alarmed city and school leaders across the state and has them begging lawmakers to keep it out of the budget.Here’s a story from Denise Callahan and me.
National political news of the week
• Critical case: The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors, a jolting setback to transgender rights and a positive sign for Ohio Republicans who approved similar legislation last year. The Associated Press has the story.
