By Marc Kovac
Record-Courier Capital Bureau
COLUMBUS -- Immigration policy reform failed to gain enough support in Congress again last week, and it doesn't appear that it will receive favorable consideration again this session.
But the public policy debate on the issue is far from over.
And State Sen. Jason Wilson is hoping to shift that discussion from the federal level to Columbus.
The Democrat from Columbiana is developing legislation at the state level to deal with the issue. He plans to introduce the bill in coming months.
"Washington hasn't dealt with this problem," he said. "The states have to take the lead, because the federal government is not."
Illegal immigration issue isn't as pronounced in Ohio as in southern border states. We don't see a whole lot of Canadians sneaking across Erie with dreams of jobs and economic opportunity in America.
But Ohio has its share of migrant workers. Many are involved in agriculture, helping to bolster a multi-billion-dollar industry. They're milking cows, picking fruits and vegetables and helping to process crops into grocery store stock.
And many are in the state legally. Plenty of others, however, are working across Ohio without proper permission to do so.
"It's not an epidemic," Wilson said. "(But) in my opinion, Ohio needs to set the rules before there's a bigger problem."
It's not enough to deport undocumented folks -- that does nothing to stop the inward flow. Instead, Wilson wants to deal with the issue by going after the companies that do the hiring.
"We have to go to the source of the problem," Wilson said.
"If the businesses don't employ them, we won't have an issue. ... Business has to step up to solve this problem."
Employers that knowingly hire illegal immigrants put others at a competitive disadvantage -- and they encourage reputable businesses to follow suit, Wilson said. They can pay undocumented workers lower wages and offer no benefits.
Mistreated employees have no recourse to improve those conditions.
"Ohio has to lay down the law and be fair to all of its businesses," Wilson said. "It cannot allow people to cheat, and that's what it's doing."
He added, "We've looked the other way for way too long. And that's why we're in this mess."
Wilson isn't necessarily anti-immigration. He acknowledged the cultural heritage behind many of the communities in his home district in eastern Ohio, where festivals celebrate German, Italian, Greek and other ancestry.
"But they came legally," Wilson said. "I think that's really the point that people are missing about this amnesty. ... Our family played by the rules when they came here."
So it's time to take businesses to task for their role in the situation, Wilson said.
"They're facilitating illegal immigration, and they're profiting from it," he said. "I think that's really where the root problem is. We are turning the other way while these companies and businesses and people employ illegal workers. I think that's where we need to go (to deal with this problem)."
The bill could be introduced during the summer recess.
"I don't want to wait until November," Wilson said. "... We need to set the rules straight."
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Marc Kovac is the Dix Newspapers Capital Bureau chief. E-mail him at mkovac@dixcom.com. His Capital Blog can be found online at blogs.recordpub.com/capitalblog.