The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Immigration topic of public forum
Talk was part of Ideastream’s Sounds of Ideas Community Tour
Painesville’s Morley Library held a public forum and discussion this week that centered on immigration.
The March 6 event was the first stop in the Sounds of Ideas Community Tour which was hosted and produced by Ideastream, the parent company of local public television station WVIZ and FM radio station 90.3 WCPN.
The pronounced Hispanic population that calls Painesville home afforded the event weighted significance, evidenced by the standing room only crowd and overfilled library parking lot.
Multiple panelists spoke throughout the evening, including immigration attorney Heather Prendergast and Lake County Commissioner Jerry Cirino. The two opened the evening’s discussion and were presented opposite one another for a point/counterpoint dynamic.
The discussion’s host, Michael McIntyre, focused the night’s first topic on a resolution Cirino failed to pass in August which voiced support for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
Cirino acknowledged those in the crowd that had vocally opposed his previous resolution attempt at prior commissioners’ meetings; calling them the “spirited opposition.”
When asked by host Michael McIntyre if President Trump’s past statements calling immigrants “rapists” and “murderers” and “drug dealers” were racist, Cirino attempted to remain neutral.
Cirino acknowledged “racism is a real problem” while at the same time stating “name calling is inappropriate, but I don’t think it reflects what’s in someone’s heart.”
While both Prendergast and Cirino were in favor of ICE as a necessary law enforcement agency, Prendergast called for “common sense solutions” that would allow for immigration and ICE policies to better reflect the needs and reality of both immigrants and American citizens.
While civility was exercised throughout, there were moments of tension. Prendergast pushed back on Cirino’s claim of an “open border” as nothing more than a “political talking point.”
This criticism was supported by an audience member who volunteers along the Mexican/US border in a humanitarian capacity. The audience member drew a round of applause from those in attendance after challenging how many times Cirino had actually been to the US/ Mexican border.
She went on to refute his claims of an open border, giving her own firsthand accounts of the heavily armed and trained border security.
A Maple Elementary teacher’s aide, Ana Padilla, spoke upon the detrimental effects that the community’s school children experience as a result from prejudices that target immigrant families.
Padilla highlighted the fear and paranoia that she sees in schoolchildren whose parents are undocumented immigrants.
“It is sad to see students come to school with uncertainty whether or not their parent is going to be home when they get back,” she said. “Sometimes they get afraid to talk to the police because they grow to not trust them.”
A DACA recipient, who wished to be known only as Louis, participated in the panel. He expressed his belief in the necessity of agencies like ICE, but added “when President Trump is holding hostage DACA students for his border wall, that is not fair to us.”
Louis closed his statements with a simple request, “let’s not toy with people’s lives.”
Painesville City Manager Monica Irelan Dupee and Painesville Police Chief Dan Waterman were invited to participate in the discussion but both declined. McIntyre stated that neither wanted to delve deeply into a political debate on immigration.
The public conversation will be condensed to 90 minutes before being broadcast on affiliate FM radio station 90.3 WCPN on March 13 at 9 a.m. Portions of the discussion will also be featured on WVIZ on March 10.