Opinion | Mike DeWine: Only Trump Can Pull Off Immigration Reform

In 1972, President Richard Nixon did something monumental and unexpected when he traveled to the People’s Republic of China and met with the leaders of its Communist regime — resulting in the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between our two countries just a few years later.

At that time, few others could have done what Nixon did for fear of being labeled an appeaser. But Nixon’s lifelong fight against Communism gave him the credibility and public trust he needed to make the bold move.

President Trump has an equally historic opportunity.

For decades, this country’s failure to seal its southern border and stem the tide of illegal immigration has hamstrung our ability to agree upon a rational legal immigration policy.

But the Department of Homeland Security reports that in June, Border Patrol apprehensions at our southern border were 94 percent lower than the monthly average during the Biden administration. Having demanded and led this remarkable turnaround, Mr. Trump has the standing to lead an effort to reform our legal immigration system — to make changes that prioritize our work force needs while respecting our history of welcoming people fleeing oppression and humanitarian crises.

As Ohio’s governor, I understand the need for a sensible immigration policy — in our state, very simply, we need people.

The national birthrate has been trending down since 2007 and is well below the replacement rate. As our population grows more slowly, it will also trend older. The Congressional Budget Office projects that starting in 2030, deaths will outpace births and all of our population growth will come from net immigration.

Despite declining birthrates, Ohio’s population grew between 2014 and 2024, with about 60 percent of the increase coming from those born outside the United States. Because our employment rate for prime-age workers is near its historic peak, Ohio must attract people of all skill levels to expand our work force.

Immigrants help fill work force gaps. Foreign-born workers represent nearly 30 percent of our country’s long-term direct-care work force. They provide one-third of the workers who allow older Americans to remain in their homes.

As of 2023, 22 percent of Ohio’s physicians, 12 percent of our STEM workers and 8 percent of our entrepreneurs were foreign-born. Looking to the future, where advanced manufacturing, aerospace and health care will drive our economy, we need both native-born workers and immigrants.

By taking on jobs that are often physically demanding and hard to fill, immigrants in many instances create opportunities for native-born Americans to hold more specialized, and higher paying, jobs. Immigrants and native-born Ohioans are building a better economy together.

This is the case in many parts of our country, where immigrants contribute to the economy, including many employed in the agricultural, meat and seafood processing, hospitality, construction, and medical care fields.

Like the president, I want everyone who comes to this country to do it legally — and I applaud his focus on and success at bringing us closer to that reality. However, despite his administration’s success in stemming illegal immigration, its approach to those here legally threatens to derail economic momentum in my state and elsewhere by deporting hard-working individuals and shutting the door to future talent.

According to one estimate, international students added nearly $55 billion to the nation’s economy in 2024. Yet the administration has drastically reduced our international student population — a sharp departure from decades of open-ended academic stays that supported research and spurred innovation.

In January, the State Department froze immigrant visa approvals for applicants from 75 countries. (In July, a Federal District Court judge ruled that this was unlawful.) Those visas have in recent years accounted for nearly half of all U.S. immigrant visas.

The administration also reduced the annual cap on refugees allowed into the United States to 7,500 from 125,000, before raising it to 17,500, with most of those slots reserved for white South Africans.

In Springfield, Ohio, Haitian nationals have played a major role in the city’s economic comeback. They’ve filled jobs, repaired homes, paid taxes, started businesses and supported their families. But the administration has ended their Temporary Protected Status, a move I have vocally opposed.

It’s time for Mr. Trump’s Nixon-goes-to-China moment. Having established himself as a staunch opponent of illegal immigration, he should begin a thoughtful, forward-thinking discussion with members of Congress in both parties about enacting a legal immigration policy that strengthens national security, bolsters our economy and keeps decent, hard-working people here.

Among the reforms he should consider supporting: Establishing new pathways to extend the legal status of foreign students who graduate with advanced STEM degrees, essentially stapling a green card to their diplomas; reworking the H-1B visa program to better prioritize workers whose skills and experience are essential to American businesses; and equipping employers with modern, reliable tools to verify work eligibility.

My great-great grandfather, Dennis DeWine, left County Galway on a cattle boat in the 1840s to escape the Irish potato famine. He worked on the railroad being built in Yellow Springs, Ohio, where he settled and raised his family.

With only big dreams and guts, he took a chance on America, and America took a chance on him. That’s the American story.

President Ronald Reagan, who signed a sweeping immigration reform bill in 1986, chose immigration as the topic for his final speech before leaving office. He reflected on America’s spirit of openness and opportunity, reminding us that “we lead the world because, unique among nations, we draw our people — our strength — from every country and every corner of the world.” He said:

Thanks to each wave of new arrivals to this land of opportunity, we’re a nation forever young, forever bursting with energy and new ideas, and always on the cutting edge, always leading the world to the next frontier. This quality is vital to our future as a nation. If we ever closed the door to new Americans, our leadership in the world would soon be lost.

The president should seize the moment to achieve real immigration reform that recognizes this same American spirit.

Mike DeWine served in both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives.

Source photographs by DreamMedia, Benjamin Lowy, Peter Macdiarmid and Joyce Naltchayan, via Getty Images.

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