Jessie Balmert

jbalmert@enquirer.com

COLUMBUS - Mayor John Cranley could be sent to prison if an unauthorized immigrant injured someone in Cincinnati under a proposal pushed by GOP U.S. Senate candidate Josh Mandel to eliminate sanctuary cities in Ohio.

Mandel, who is Ohio's treasurer, and state Rep. Candice Keller, R-Middletown, want to ban sanctuary cities by holding city council officials civilly and criminally liable for injuries or deaths caused by locals who are in the country illegally. Keller plans to introduce a bill to make such offenses a fourth-degree felony, punishable by up to a year and a half in prison and a $5,000 fine. The civil liability would be worth up to $1 million in fines.

The proposal comes after Cincinnati's leaders voted last week to declare the city a "sanctuary city," a largely symbolic move because Cincinnati police already abstain from enforcing federal laws against people who lack proper immigration documents.

The recent push from Cranley and the Democratic-controlled City Council, including primary opponent Yvette Simpson, was more about public perception and politics than policy. The move challenges President Donald Trump's executive order to find ways to withhold federal money from sanctuary cities.

"These jurisdictions have caused immeasurable harm to the American people and to the very fabric of our Republic," according to Trump's executive order, which he signed last month.

Mandel and Keller's push this week for an anti-sanctuary city bill is also about hitting on a hot topic. Keller told reporters invited to a call to hear about the bill that she might change the details about criminal and civil liability before introducing the legislation.

"We have not and will not violate federal laws. Mandel’s proposal is a straw man for his political ambitions, demonizing refugees fleeing oppression in the process," Cranley said in a statement. "Mandel’s attempt to jail people who disagree with the president is an outrageous attack on the First Amendment."

Mandel, who has adopted a Trump-like tone for his possible 2018 rematch against Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, said Ohio must ban sanctuary cities, such as Cincinnati, to prevent "radical Islamic terrorism."

Keller rode a wave of Trump support to win a spot in the Ohio Statehouse over the Butler County GOP's endorsed pick. Her neighbors "want to feel safe in their own community," she said.

Cincinnati now a 'sanctuary city.' What's that mean?

Josh Mandel: 'Over our dead body' will Cincinnati be a sanctuary city

Still, Mandel could not point to an instance where an unauthorized immigrant committed serious crimes after being detained by Ohio police for a non-criminal offense and released because of a policy against enforcing federal immigration laws.

Mandel, who is a descendant of Jewish immigrants, argued that today's refugees pose a threat to the U.S.

"The comparisons between Islamic refugees today and Holocaust victims in the last century are very different because in the late 1930s there were not Jews committing terrorist acts throughout the globe," Mandel said. Sanctuary cities protect unauthorized immigrants, not refugees. Refugees are in the United States legally.

If passed, this legislation would put Ohio outside national norms. Only Colorado is considering criminal penalties for sanctuary city officials.

It's not clear whether Trump will follow through with his promise to withhold federal money from sanctuary cities. Cranley doubts he will, but Republicans in Congress aren't so sure. U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Westwood, said Cincinnati's leaders made a "really stupid" decision to test Trump.

“The city of Cincinnati has decided to walk the plank here and to do something which just makes you shake your head and wonder, what are they thinking?” Chabot said.

Chabot: Cincy "has decided to walk the plank" with sanctuary city policy

Brown, Ohio's Democratic senator running for re-election in 2018, said he would "fight like hell" to protect Cincinnati from losing federal money if Trump tried to block its funds.

Dan Horn, Alan Gomez, Deirdre Shesgreen and Jason Williams of The Enquirer and USA Today contributed reporting.