My personal belief is that we don’t have an Immigrant problem. We have a problem Immigrant Integration problem. Bear with me, and please allow me to explain my opinion. Please.

When Immigrants come from all the different countries, they usually speak their country’s language and many, if not most, aren’t bilingual American English speakers. If we want to truly welcome our new neighbors and want them to begin to become a part of our communities, we need to make sure they feel wanted and invited. They have valuable skills to share with us that can enrich our lives and our immigrants are hard working people who are coming to Ohio, and the US, for better opportunities, a better life, a better future. These are all things that everyone wants, a better chance in life to be the person that they want to be, to have a happy, healthy and safe life.

In order to protect our new neighbors, I believe we should legislate safe and protected spaces where a person CANNOT be arrested or detained by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Officers. School, Places of Worship, Hospitals and Court Rooms & Attorney’s / Lawyer’s Offices, should ALL be safe places were no one should fear being arrested or detained by CPB or ICE.

As for integrating our new neighbors into our communities, I think that if we implemented even just of few the following ideas to welcome our them, we would all get to understand each other a little more and that we would in turn, get along a little bit better. To reiterate:

• Free English As A Second Language courses, taught by members of the community at placed decided upon by each community - maybe a church, a school, a community or senior center.

• Bilingual Guides - someone who is fluent in both the foreign language and American English, hopefully someone who is a local community member or even community leader, who can help immigrants become a part of their new communities and navigate the area so they can grow roots.

• Expansion of the Foreign Exchange Student Program - we share more in common than we have in differences. We need to focus on our shared goals, shared hopes & dreams. If we get to know that people from other countries and other cultures are not so different from our own as they might seem on the surface, maybe we can learn to be kinder and more accepting of each other from a younger age.