Having trouble keeping up with the news coming from the White House? You’re not alone. In the first few weeks in office, President Donald Trump has signed 60 executive orders. Tech mogul Elon Musk has become a regular visitor to the Oval Office with viral press events.
Given the rapid amount of news, The Enquirer will ask members of Congress in some of the top issues coming from the White House. This week’s question involves deportations.
Only two members of the eight who represent Greater Cincinnati responded, Republican Sen. Rand Paul and Democratic Rep. Greg Landsman.
Reps. David Taylor, Warren Davidson and Thomas Massie and Sens. Bernie Moreno, Jon Husted and Mitch McConnell did not respond.
For those who did not respond to the questions, The Enquirer has compiled the Congress member’s statements in previous media appearances or on social media.
Have a question you would like to ask the area members of Congress? You can submit your questions here. Your question and name and where you are from could be published.
Earlier questionWhere they stand: Local members of Congress asked about Biden, Trump pardons
Here are the responses to this week’s question.
Should all immigrants here illegally be deported? If so, why?
Rep. Greg Landsman
Landsman, a Democrat from Cincinnati’s Mount Washington neighborhood, in an email to The Enquirer, said he favors deporting people here illegally who have committed crimes. He doesn’t support mass deportations proposed by Trump.
“If you came here unlawfully and get arrested for a second crime, you get sent home,” Landsman said in the email. “Most folks believe that makes sense. But going into communities and just rounding up people as part of some extremely expensive and cruel mass deportation plan doesn’t make sense and it’s not who we are.”
Landsman said he supports increasing the number of border patrol agents to secure the border with Mexico and the number of judges to speed up the asylum process.
Sen. Rand Paul
Paul, in an interview with The Enquirer last week, said people who are in the country illegally but have committed crimes should be the first to get deported.
Immigrants here illegally that have lived peacefully should be allowed to stay and work but should not be allowed to become citizens, the Republican senator from Bowling Green, Kentucky, said.
“I would simply say, ‘you no longer have to run from the law,'” Paul said of undocumented immigrants who have not committed any crimes. “If you want to work in our country and you’re willing to be a productive member of our society, you stay. And that would be the trade-off.”
Rep. Warren Davidson
Davidson, a Republican from Troy who represents western Hamilton County and Butler County, posted a poll on the social media site X on Dec. 12 asking his followers “which illegal immigrants should be deported?” Of the 426 people that responded, 81% said all of them should be deported, compared to 16% who chose “only if more crimes” and 3% said none.
Davidson opposed the temporary protected status previous President Joe Biden gave to immigrants from certain locations, including the Haitian immigrants in Springfield who became a flashpoint in the presidential race.
“The Biden Administration’s abusive mass parole policies have made every town in the U.S. a border town,” Davidson posted on X on Sept. 9. “These programs circumvent established legal processes and encourage further unlawful entries. We must uphold the rule of law and enforce our immigration laws. Safe communities require a strong border.”
Rep. David Taylor
The newly elected Republican congressman who represents Clermont County and the 2nd Congressional District campaigned last year on a tough, Trumpian immigration policy.
Taylor, who owns a construction company, won with a campaign that ran ads of him behind a bulldozer saying “I know a thing or two about building walls.”
Early in 2024 while he was running in the Republican primary for Congress, Taylor answered a survey from The Enquirer and called the immigration system broken.
“Our immigration current system is broken and needs reform, but that cannot happen until we finish President Trump’s wall, secure the border, and deport those who have entered this country illegally,” Taylor said in The Enquirer’s survey.
Rep. Thomas Massie
There didn’t appear to be much, if anything, on the record from Massie on who should be deported. In a statement to Louisville Public Radio in November, the Republican who represents Northern Kentucky said, “I support President Trump’s strong mandate to enforce the immigration laws of the United States.”
Sen. Bernie Moreno
Days after Trump took office, Moreno, the Republican from Cleveland who beat Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in November, went on Fox News and expressed support for Trump beginning to step up deportations.
“We’re going to get them all out of here and restore safety and security to our cities,” Moreno said.
Moreno told Fox News the goal is to have 1 million deportations by the end of the year.
“We’ve got to get this under control,” Moreno said. “The citizens of America deserve a sovereign country and secure country, and that’s what we’re going to give them.”
Sen. Jon Husted
Not much could be found on Husted weighing in on who should be deported. When Springfield’s Haitian population became an issue in the presidential race, Husted tweeted a picture of Canadian geese with the tagline, “Most Americans agree that these migrants should be deported.”
Sen. Mitch McConnell
The Enquirer could not find comments by McConnell addressing who should be deported.
This story was updated to add a video.