Re:Source Cleveland and A.S.I.A., Inc serve refugees, immigrants, and asylum seekers across Northeast Ohio. Together we reach thousands of people each year. Our clients work in Ohio's hospitals, factories, warehouses, and small businesses. Their children graduate from Ohio high schools and enroll in Ohio colleges. They are building their futures in Ohio.
In a NYT op-ed last August, Governor DeWine argued restricting legal immigration works against Ohio's interests. We want to continue a conversation about what we are seeing, where we are stretched, and what the state can do. We are ready to be a resource to your administration from day one.
Immigrants represent 60 percent of Ohio's growth in the past decade. Cutting off that growth means Ohio stops growing.
What rising demand looks like
When H.R.1 ended Medicaid coverage, refugees fully eligible the day before found the rules changed around them. Paired with the SNAP changes, this is a crisis.
We serve hundreds of these families. A single eligibility change can affect food security and stability for an entire household. A mother and her two adult children arrived in Cleveland in 2024 as refugees. Both adult children work full time in entry level jobs. They pay payroll taxes. They support their mother, who is sixty. She has chronic health conditions that require regular appointments and regular medication. Medicaid covers that today. On October 1, it did not.
Where we are stretched
Our greatest pain point is simple. Federal policy has moved a large volume of work onto community organizations without moving any resources with it.
The people affected are already working. They staff Ohio's long-term care facilities, food processing plants, and construction sites. When they lose coverage, they do not stop working. They stop going to the doctor.
Families that lose Medicaid or SNAP come to our offices looking for help and hope. They need guidance with eligibility screening, connecting with County Job and Family Services, medical referrals, and help with work requirements. No public funding stream supports this.
Recommendations
- Protect families who lost Medicaid and SNAP under federal eligibility changes. Federal eligibility changes impact thousands of Ohioans and over 1,400 in Greater Cleveland. Many removed from SNAP are children. We ask the state to create a state-funded coverage program for those who lose federal eligibility for healthcare, and a state-funded food benefit for the same families.
- Guarantee driver's license and ID access for lawfully present Ohioans. In February 2026 a federal court ordered that the Ohio BMV stop denying licenses to refugees whose entry documents are more than two years old and to 16- and 17-year-olds whose parents cannot cosign because of their status. We ask your administration to codify compliance in BMV rule and statute, extend it to asylees, parolees, and TPS holders with pending renewals, and direct the BMV to accept USCIS receipt notices as proof of status. A license is the difference between a job and no job for most of our clients. Parole applications can outlast the original parole period, leaving many with expired status. They cannot renew their work authorizations or driver's licenses. High school seniors cannot access federal student aid or qualify for in-state tuition. Accepting pending USCIS applications as proof of status keeps families working and students in school.
- Put newcomers to work in the jobs Ohio cannot fill. Ohio is short on nurses, skilled trades workers, and childcare providers. The expansion of international credential recognition and education programs targeted to newcomers would allow adults to successfully move into high demand positions on a career track. Being stuck in entry-level positions with low wages prevents families from moving forward and does little to address Ohio’s skilled workforce gap.
- Restore basic human dignity for all residents of Ohio. Ohio must restore basic human dignity, respect, and compassion for all residents of Ohio regardless of their race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin. Arbitrary targeting and profiling of residents resulting in unlawful and inhumane detention in facilities across Ohio must be halted. We must observe the democratic principles that have shaped our nation to be the voice of democracy across the world.
These four steps cost little and draw on authority the state already holds. Our organizations are ready to help your administration deliver on that. We would welcome the chance to host you or your staff at our programs in Greater Cleveland.
Sincerely,
Patrick Kearns, Executive Director, Re:Source Cleveland
Harry Kamdar, Chief Executive Officer, A.S.I.A., Inc.
