State lawmakers want legislative action after Columbus and Franklin County officials effectively said their jurisdictions wouldn’t cooperate with federal immigration laws.
House Bill 26, the Protecting Ohio Communities Act, would defund sanctuary cities. Proponents argue that it would force leaders of the jurisdictions to choose between opposing federal immigration laws and keeping state funding.
“We’re going to continue trying to get hearings here as soon as we get back in session, starting in February and March,” state Rep. Josh Williams, R-Sylvania Twp., told Ohio.News in an exclusive interview.
“I’m hoping to get this out by the time we get to the spring, knowing that this enforcement mechanism is here,” Williams added. “Columbus has become such a stain on the image of Ohio that the federal government had to send ICE here. We predicted it; we knew that this was going to happen. That’s why we introduced the bill.”
Williams said he thinks HB 26 can successfully force sanctuary jurisdictions to follow the law because it “has a carrot and a stick.”
“It says if you want to continue to go down these woke sanctuary policies within your local jurisdictions, home rule says that you can,” Williams said. “But we are not going to subsidize those decisions, and we’re going to actually remove state funding from you.
“That is the type of conditional funding restrictions that should be used more often to get these jurisdictions in line,” Williams said. “If you want to have these sanctuary policies, you need to raise local taxes to pay for local services, and stop trying to get the rest of the Republican state to subsidize your decision-making.”
A second measure, House Bill 200, the America First Act, would make it illegal for anyone in the country illegally to enter or remain in Ohio. While it grants an exemption to anyone who received the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, better known as DACA, program between 2012 and 2021, it requires Ohio law enforcement agencies to cooperate with federal officials in enforcing federal immigration law.
“Ohio needs to take action immediately to advance HB200 and HB 26 to Make America First in Ohio, the heart of it all,” state Rep. Gary Click, R-Vickery, told Ohio.News.
Mark Pukita, a conservative political activist and former candidate for U.S. Senate, told Ohio.News the measure is more about punishing jurisdictions that stand in the way of enforcing federal law.
“If you really do a deep dive, HB26 is not primarily about immigration,” Pukita said. “It is about whether the State of Ohio should penalize cities and counties who interfere in the enforcement of federal policy choices (either by actively pushing back, or simply not cooperating) using local government funding as leverage.
“I believe in law and order and the rule of law,” Pukita added. “I believe Ohio should not fund jurisdictions that actively obstruct federal law enforcement.”
Last week, Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther, a Democrat, and Police Chief Elaine Bryant released a video reaffirming that local law enforcement would not help in federal immigration officers conducting actions in city limits.
“When the wicked expose themselves, believe them,” state Rep. Beth Lear, R-Galena, said in a post to X in response to the video. “These people don’t care about the citizens of Columbus or the oaths they swore. They’d rather burn the city down – with your tax dollars – and rule over the ashes, than follow the rule of law and protect Ohioans.”
When the wicked expose themselves, believe them. These people don’t care about the citizens of Columbus or the oaths they swore. They’d rather burn the city down – with your tax dollars – and rule over the ashes, than follow the rule of law and protect Ohioans. Virtue signaling🤮 https://t.co/KgUe4U2s6Y
— Lear for Liberty 🇺🇸 (@Lear4Liberty) December 19, 2025
