By CARL E. FEATHER - Staff Writer - cfeather@starbeacon.com
A forum on illegal immigration, which will feature sheriffs from the tricounty area, will be held 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Geneva VFW.
“We think it is time to have something where people can come to and listen to what people have to say about immigration and then ask questions,” said Arzella Melnyk of the Grassroots Rally Team of Ohio, the event’s sponsor.
Scheduled to speak are sheriffs William Johnson of Ashtabula County, Daniel McClelland of Geauga County and Daniel Dunlap of Lake County. Bob Najmulski of FAIR (Federation for American Immigration Reform) also will speak.
Melnyk said there will be a question-and-answer period after the presentations so citizens can get answers on how illegal immigration affects local law enforcement at all levels.
“Hopefully, when they walk away from the forum, they’ll have their questions answered and have information they can take with them,” Melnyk said.
The forum is being held at this time because immigration is moving from the back burner in Washington and representatives and senators will be seeking input from constituents. Further, Melnyk said there has been a lot of media coverage of the illegal-immigrant issue in northeast Ohio but it has been from the perspective of the immigrants and advocacy groups.
“It seems like it is really coming forward, and there may be people that have questions or issues. This will give them an opportunity to listen to people discuss immigration, to get a law-enforcement perspective on it, and get an idea of what the sheriffs’ departments are dealing with,” she said.
The VFW is located at 76 Depot St. The forum is free.
