{"id":12643,"date":"2025-11-05T16:21:04","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T16:21:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/?p=12643"},"modified":"2025-11-05T16:21:04","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T16:21:04","slug":"cleveland-heights-for-immigrant-rights-announces-broad-candidate-support-for-immigrant-legal-defense-proposal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/05\/cleveland-heights-for-immigrant-rights-announces-broad-candidate-support-for-immigrant-legal-defense-proposal\/","title":{"rendered":"Cleveland Heights for Immigrant Rights Announces Broad Candidate Support for Immigrant Legal Defense Proposal"},"content":{"rendered":"

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OH, October 30, 2025: Cleveland Heights for Immigrant Rights announced today that both candidates for mayor and three of six city council candidates have endorsed the organization\u2019s proposal for immigrant residents facing detention or deportation.\u00a0<\/strong>All candidates were sent a survey to indicate their level of support for the proposal. Six of eight candidates responded.<\/p>\n

The proposal\u00a0would establish funding to provide legal representation to Cleveland Heights residents at risk of detention or deportation, as well as legal clinics for immigrants seeking advice on immigration matters. Legal services would be provided by a private attorney under contract with the city. Legal clinics would be held at the Cleveland Heights City Hall or Community Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are thrilled to see our local leaders stand up with our immigrant neighbors,\u201d said\u00a0Sheila Keller,<\/strong>\u00a0a member of Cleveland Heights for Immigrant Rights. \u201cLegal representation can be the difference between a family staying together or being torn apart. With legal representation, immigrants are ten times more likely to win their court cases. This proposal represents the values of compassion and inclusion that have long defined Cleveland Heights.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jim Petras<\/strong>, a current Cleveland Heights city council member and candidate for mayor, promised that, if elected, he will \u201cmake the passing of this proposal a top priority from day one\u201d and that he will \u201clook for additional ways to protect immigrants.\u201d He is ready to see the city move forward with the proposal: \u201cAs a next step, I would like to see the Public Health and Safety Committee request that the Law Department research Cleveland Heights for Immigrant Rights\u2019 proposal so that we can define the parameters of a program and draft legislation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davida Russell,\u00a0<\/strong>who is also a\u00a0<\/strong>current Cleveland Heights city council member and candidate for mayor, also endorsed the proposal. If elected, she promised to\u00a0\u201csupport the proposal and look for additional ways to protect immigrants.\u201d She also identified \u201cnext steps\u201d as getting input from the Cleveland Heights\u2019 Law Director and city administrators and \u201cholding a community forum to get input from residents.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cleveland Heights for Immigrant Rights is organizing a forum, a \u201cteach-in\u201d that will bring together local and regional experts to discuss the challenges immigrants are facing, the impacts of the Trump Administration\u2019s war on immigrants, and how to organize a resistance. \u201cWe know that our strength as a community comes from standing together,\u201d said\u00a0Jamie Hickner,\u00a0<\/strong>a member of Cleveland Heights for Immigrant Rights.\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cThe teach-in will be an opportunity for the entire community to learn more about what\u2019s needed to support immigrants and to honor their contributions to our community and across the country. We\u2019ll hear from a wide range of immigration experts and community advocates about what it will take for Cleveland Heights to live up to its welcoming values.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to the endorsements by the two mayoral candidates, three of six Cleveland Heights City Council candidates endorsed the group\u2019s legal representation proposal.<\/p>\n

Adam Dew<\/strong>, a city council candidate, endorsed the proposal and promised to support it if elected. He explained why the issue is so important to him:\u00a0\u201cThis proposal speaks directly to the core of what a majority of Cleveland Heights stands for: every person deserves due process and justice. I lived in Chicago for 20 years. My kids were born in Humboldt Park and Irving Park, two of Chicago\u2019s neighborhood\u2019s currently under assault by representatives of our government. I\u2019m livid. And here in Cleveland Heights, we need to prepare for the day they show up again for more of our neighbors. Their last visit to Cilantro should be all the warning we need.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joseph DeWitt-Foy<\/strong>, another city council candidate, also endorsed the proposal and promised his support. He explained why this issue is so important to him: \u201cCleveland Heights should be a safe and welcoming community for all. The proposal to help provide legal counsel to those unable to afford it is a reasonable step to ensuring due process for our neighbors.\u201d DeWitt-Foy wants to learn more about how the proposed project will operate, but he says if elected, he will \u201clook forward to discussing how the city can best support all our neighbors through these difficult times.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anthony Mattox<\/strong>, a current Cleveland Heights City Council member and candidate, promised to make the proposal a \u201ctop priority from day one.\u201d He committed to seeking additional ways to protect immigrants, explaining that he is \u201cin total support of this issue.\u201d Mattox argued that Cleveland Heights needs to live up to its own ideals:\u00a0\u201cCleveland Heights leads. We don\u2019t lead from a place of fear. If we are going to say that \u2018all are welcome,\u2019 they also need to be \u2018safe\u2019 and \u2018protected.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Two remaining city council candidates, Interim Mayor\u00a0Tony Cuda<\/strong>\u00a0and City Council member\u00a0Craig Cobb,<\/strong>\u00a0did not respond to three emailed requests, over two weeks, that they complete the survey.<\/p>\n

The final city council candidate,\u00a0Jessica Cohen<\/strong>, completed the survey but said she \u201ccannot endorse the proposal\u201d at this stage. She shared that immigration and the right to due process are very important to her. \u201cAs a grandchild and great grandchild of immigrants, everything I have here in the U.S. is due to the fact that my family was welcomed to America as immigrants and we were able to thrive and succeed. Support of immigration is deeply personal to me.\u201d She also said that she \u201csupports the idea of the [legal defense] program,\u201d and that, if elected, she will \u201cadvocate for answers to understand the viability of the program and any potential impacts on the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CH4IR formed after the Jan. 26 ICE raid on Cilantro Taqueria, a Coventry Village restaurant. Six employees were arrested by ICE that day and detained at the Geauga County Safety Center, an ICE detention facility. ICE did not present judicial warrants for any of the detained.\u00a0The group began researching nationwide immigration policies and practices in the spring, developing an eight-point proposal for citywide support of immigrants. The legal defense proposal is one of those eight points. In addition to its legislative initiatives, the group has the group has organized Know Your Rights trainings at numerous Cleveland Heights businesses, organized a defense network to protect immigrants from illegal actions by ICE, networked with dozens of local leaders to promote a pro-immigration movement, and collaborated with other immigration rights groups across Northeast Ohio, including groups organizing legal defense in other cities.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OH, October 30, 2025: Cleveland Heights for Immigrant Rights announced today that both candidates for mayor and three of six city council candidates have endorsed the organization\u2019s proposal for immigrant residents facing detention or deportation.\u00a0All candidates were sent a survey to indicate their level of support for the proposal. Six of eight candidates<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12644,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_rtcl_gb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"wf_post_folders":[284],"class_list":["post-12643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"aioseo_notices":[],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/heights.jpg",700,312,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/heights.jpg",700,312,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/heights.jpg",700,312,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/heights-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/heights-300x134.jpg",300,134,true],"large":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/heights.jpg",640,285,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/heights.jpg",700,312,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/heights.jpg",700,312,false],"rtcl-gallery":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/heights.jpg",700,312,false],"rtcl-thumbnail":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/heights-320x240.jpg",320,240,true],"rtcl-gallery-thumbnail":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/heights-150x105.jpg",150,105,true],"psacp-medium":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/heights-500x312.jpg",500,312,true],"rpwe-thumbnail":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/heights-45x45.jpg",45,45,true]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"LaPrensa Newspaper","author_link":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/author\/laprensa\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"Articles<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OH, October 30, 2025: Cleveland Heights for Immigrant Rights announced today that both candidates for mayor and three of six city council candidates have endorsed the organization\u2019s proposal for immigrant residents facing detention or deportation.\u00a0All candidates were sent a survey to indicate their level of support for the proposal. Six of eight candidates","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12643"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12643\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12645,"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12643\/revisions\/12645"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12643"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=12643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}