Columbus stakeholders prepare for immigration changes in new year

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – According to Columbus City Council, 8.7% of central Ohio's population are immigrants. Now, local immigration and refugee centers worry they may not be able to help as many families under new federal restrictions.

President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to change this on his first day in office, with a pillar of his campaign promising a significant crackdown on immigration. According to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, about 2,800 refugees came to Ohio in 2023, originating from 35 countries. According to the National Immigration Forum, more than 528,000 immigrants live in Ohio.

Community Refugee and Immigration Services (CRIS) works to help refugees and immigrants enter central Ohio safely and successfully. The day after the November election, CRIS posted on social media acknowledging the election results. 

“During President Trump’s previous administration, the number of vetted, legal, vulnerable people the US welcomed as refugees dropped by 86%. We saw policies put in place that targeted the people we serve, and we grieved with local families whose loved ones were kept apart and left in danger," CRIS wrote on social media. "We watched funding for CRIS and other immigrant- and refugee-serving organizations get cut over and over, even as our team did all it could to address the needs that exist in our community.” 

Refugees and asylum-seekers are different from immigrants, although they may share similar experiences depending on their situation. Refugees are people who had to leave their home countries because they were in danger, and the U.S. government allows them to come to the U.S. for safety. Asylees are people who come to the U.S. on their own, but ask for protection because they are in a similar situation as refugees, and receive similar help once their asylum is approved.

The most common country of origin for refugees in 2024 moving to Ohio was the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with 1,338 refugees resettling in Ohio. According to the UN Refugee Agency, the decades of clashes between groups has led to 9.9 million refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced populations. The UN reports widespread human rights violations, with more than 940,000 people fleeing violence in the DRC in the first half of 2024 alone.

Columbus leaders are still working to support immigrants and refugees like those fleeing the DRC. On Nov. 21, Columbus City Council passed legislation establishing the new Commission on Immigrant and Refugee Affairs, with initial appointments to the 15-member board being confirmed by March 1, 2025.  The board will help remove barriers for immigrants.

"Immigrants and refugees are vibrant and vital to the City of Columbus. Immigrants contribute to the economic development of this city and we have long seen an impact in our historic neighborhoods like German Village, Italian Village and Hungarian Village," the ordinance read. "As thousands have resettled and continue to resettle here, they often face barriers or are unable to access resources.”

Immigrant populations have already been front and center of the incoming administration, making headlines this fall as President-elect Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance helped perpetuate rumors about Haitian residents in Springfield. Haitian immigrants have a Temporary Protected Status designation through February 2026, which grants temporary immigration to people from specific countries to live and work in the U.S. if it is unsafe to return home.

According to Immigration Impact, Trump tried to terminate Temporary Protected Status for more than 400,000 citizens during his first term. CRIS Executive Director Angie Plummer said in an update that she has worked with CRIS for seven presidential elections, and Trump's first presidency marked an outlier.

"I have grieved with weeping mothers waiting in agony to be reunited with their children, only to face delay after delay. I have sat across from disheartened husbands and fathers who felt helpless, mourning the milestones they missed sharing with their families," Plummer said. "After a change in administration, I have been able to join many families as they are reunited with loved ones at the Columbus airport, often having waited many years for that moment."

Plummer wrote that there may be a time soon when immigrants and refugees will need support. The Commission on Immigrant Affairs will begin its work next year, in hopes of helping offer support from the city.

“When you look at cities like a Springfield, across the country we see that immigrants are boosting the economy because they’re adding people to the country,” Columbus Councilmember Lourdes Barroso de Padilla, the councilmember behind the commission, said. "A city like Columbus that relies on income tax to fund city services, having more people is helpful.”