SB54 would form the New African Immigrants Grant and Gift Fund in the state treasury.
The Senate passed SB54 on March 29, 2023, by a vote of 31 to 0. We have assigned minuses to the yeas because neither the mission nor the duties of the New African Immigrants Commission are the legitimate objects of government. Ohio has no business authorizing a statutory mandate to “advocate for the self-sufficiency of sub-Saharan African people,” which only divides its residents on account of national origin or ethnicity. Instead of unconstitutionally and unethically engaging in identity politics by discriminatorily seeking to “apply for and accept grants and gifts” on behalf of sub-Saharan African migrants or refugees, the State should focus first and foremost on securing the basic constitutional rights of its citizens. The Bill of Rights and the 14th Amendment were intended to promote the “general Welfare” of all Americans and demand that each state provide to every person within its jurisdiction the “equal protection of the laws.”