Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones recently took a trip to Cochise County, Arizona to visit the US-Mexico border and speak with local proponents of enforcement-heavy immigration measures like the recently passed SB 1070. His trip has been widely publicized, being covered in local papers as well as Fox News, and even NPR’s Latino USA. He even brought media along with him.
His infamous infatuation with immigrant incarceration (try saying that 5 times fast) is nothing new to Latino Ohioans. Butler County is currently the only place in Ohio that operates under the 287(g) program to deputize local law enforcement as federal immigration agents. Jones was recently sued by a resident of Butler County in connection with abuse of the 287 (g) program--the result of which was a $100,000 settlement to the victim.
However, Jones’s exploits have not been limited to Butler County. He has worked closely with state legislators from his area, attempting to expand the 287(g) program statewide, institute an English-only policy for Ohio, and most recently to ban the receipt of Worker’s Compensation for injured undocumented workers. He has also worked closely with groups like FAIR, an anti-immigrant organization designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
In a recent interview, Jones revealed that he is now working with Bay Buchanan and a “DC-based group” to bring Arizona’s SB 1070 to Ohio as a voter-initiative for the 2011 ballot. This DC group is presumably Team America PAC, a conservative group with ties to white supremacists and founded by Tom Tancredo. When Tancredo was a Colorado congressman, he supplied a wealth of anti-immigrant sound bites.
So what does this mean for Ohio? Jones and Combs have two options for their ballot initiative: an amendment to the Ohio Constitution or a voter-initiated statute (law). Right now, indications are that this will be a proposed law, not a constitutional amendment. This means that Jones and company have until the end of December 2010 to collect and file a number of signatures equal to 3% of the total voter turnout from the last governor’s election. If this is filed by November 2, the number is 120,638.
If the Ohio Secretary of State validates the signatures, the proposed statute is delivered to the Ohio General Assembly. The House and Senate have four months to pass it as written, pass it with amendments, or fail to pass it. If the version is passed as written, it becomes law and is not subject to the governor’s veto. If an amended version is passed, or if the General Assembly fails to pass it within four months, Jones and company would have 90 days to collect and file additional signatures equal to 3% of the electorate from the last governor’s election. If this requirement is met, the statute goes to the ballot at the next election.
These numbers are based on the election in 2006. However, as 2010 is an election year for the governor, voter turnout in November 2010 has the potential to impact the number of signatures needed to file this petition. In addition, we will need to work with state legislators to ensure that this statute does not advance through the General Assembly. In the past, Jones’s legislation has passed the Republican-run Senate and died in the Democratic-led House. This trend could change if the Democrats lose control of the House in November.
This is all the more reason why Latino's and the immigrant-friendly community need to show their force at the polls in November. Short of organizing a counter-ballot initiative, this is the surest way to defeat Jones and company.
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