DAVE YOST AND ASHLEY HAYEK: A Commonsense Idea To Address Ohio’s Migrant Crisis

Every state is now a border state feeling the impact of the reckless and unlawful Biden-Harris administration’s open border policy. Ohio, unsurprisingly, is feeling the effects, especially in towns like Springfield, where 15,000 Haitian migrants have overwhelmed a town of just 60,000 residents.

The surge has strained Medicaid and food assistance programs, raised rent prices and led to more unlicensed drivers who cannot read English traffic signs on the road. Ohio now hosts an estimated 143,000 illegal aliens — and the left wants to keep pretending it is not a problem.

Since the Biden-Harris administration refuses to act, Ohio’s legislature should take action to address the financial and public safety implications of this illegal alien surge. One commonsense fix is a fee on international anonymous wire transfers — a favorite tool of drug and human traffickers. A new fee on these transactions would hit illegal actors where it hurts: their wallets. This policy would make it more expensive to operate illegally in Ohio and generate much-needed revenue for local law enforcement at the same time. Ohio Rep. Scott Wiggam has introduced legislation to do exactly this.

This bill would not touch everyday transactions like Venmo payments or traditional bank wires. Instead, it focuses on cash transfers made via businesses that don’t verify identities or ask questions of their clients. Under the proposal, law-abiding citizens can get a full refund of the wire fee when they file their taxes, while illegal aliens and criminals will absorb the cost.

These extra funds would help Ohio fight drug and human trafficking, both of which are, predictably, booming under the Biden-Harris regime. In 2023 alone, over 3,500 Ohioans died from fentanyl poisoning, most of which was smuggled into the United States by Mexican cartels with chemicals from China. Once here, traffickers send their profits back to cartel leaders through wire transfers, funding further drug smuggling operations. Cracking down on wire transfers would put a major dent into these networks’ profitability.

In addition to the drug trade, human trafficking has become a massive problem in the U.S., with an estimated 500,000 victims nationwide, including nearly 7,000 confirmed cases in Ohio. Some of these victims are children who crossed the border as unaccompanied minors and have since disappeared into the system. Cartels and traffickers earn an estimated $14 million per day from human smuggling and trafficking, exploiting gaps in U.S. border security and financial regulations. By imposing a fee on wire transfers, Ohio can make it harder for traffickers to operate and fund their criminal enterprises.

Finally, this bill would generate revenue for local law enforcement and community programs. Illegal immigration, drug trafficking and human trafficking drain Ohio’s public safety and social services. A new fee, collected only from illegal aliens and criminal operatives, would fund law enforcement efforts to address these challenges without raising taxes on legal Ohioans.

Oklahoma, the only other state to implement a similar policy, currently imposes a 1% fee on wire transfers, generating $13 million annually. With a larger population of illegal aliens, Ohio could generate up to $140 million each year with the 7% fee proposed by Rep. Wiggam’s bill. All of this money could be directed toward combating the consequences of illegal migration, drug smuggling and human trafficking.

At the federal level, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance has introduced a similar bill that would impose a 10% fee and harsh penalties for those who try to evade it. His bill would also punish countries that assist people in avoiding the fee by making them ineligible for U.S. foreign assistance and visa waivers. The funds collected under Vance’s bill would go to securing the southern border.

While federal action like Vance’s proposal is crucial, Ohio cannot afford to wait for Congress. State lawmakers can act now to protect Ohioans by implementing safeguards that make it harder for illegal aliens to operate in the state. Cracking down on the financing of illegal activity is a good place to start, and a fee on anonymous international wire transfers is a practical solution that benefits law-abiding citizens while holding criminals accountable.

Ohio can lead on this issue today. What are we waiting for?

Dave Yost is the current Attorney General for the state of Ohio. Ashley Hayek is Executive Director of America First Works, former 2020 Trump Campaign Coalitions Director, and author of Beat the Elites.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Featured Image: Screen Capture/PBS NewsHour