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And from the Ohio education Association, representing 120,000 educators who are united in their mission to create the excellent public schools every child deserves.

More at OHEA.org A military drone maker becomes the largest job creation project in state history.

And the Ohio State Fair starts its 12 day run.

That's this weekend, the state of Ohio.

Welcome to the state of Ohio.

I'm Karen Kasler.

18 months after launching its operations just south of Columbus, and says production is underway on autonomous combat aircraft at the company that is on track to become Ohio's biggest ever job creation and payroll project.

Andrew.

Executives, along with government officials, manufacturing workers and their families showed off the first finished FCW 44, nicknamed the Fury, which is being built for the US Air Force.

Matt Grim is the co-founder of Android playbook.

We have big ideas, big ambitions and big plans.

By 2035, this site will support more than 4000 direct jobs across 5,000,000ft², spread across about a dozen buildings, making Arsenal one the single largest job creation project in Ohio's history.

across three shifts, and rule expects to build as many as 12 of the FCK 44 each month.

The defense contractor secured $310 million in grants from Jobs Ohio over the next ten years through 2035, which totals more than one third of and $910 million commitment.

And last year, the Ohio Department of Developments Tax Credit Authority also greenlit a 2.59% refundable job creation tax credit, ending in 2055.

It was estimated then that Android could see more than $450 million in incentives from its tax break alone.

Intel had held the title of largest single direct job creation project in Ohio before this annual announcement.

Governor Mike DeWine was asked about reports that Intel was working on bringing in a partner business for its manufacturing facility, still under construction in New Albany.

students here from?

State area Oregon?

To work on?

Never lost confidence.

You tell.

Me.

They're always making.

Intel had set production of chips at the facility to start in 2028, but that's been pushed back to at least 2030.

The Democratic candidate for governor hit the airwaves with her first ad this week, as the Republicans been spending millions on ads since March.

Amy Acton's ad serves as an introduction which is common for first ads.

The vague Ramaswami did the same thing with his first ad, but Ramaswami political action committee has gotten heat for ads it's airing that have contained misleading information.

Acton also put out a call for a conditional moratorium on data centers, saying they weren't welcome in Ohio.

If they don't use 100% union labor in their construction, pay all of their utility costs, meet environmental standards, and commit to community benefit and transparency.

It's unclear how she'd do all this, as the governor cannot require privately developed data centers to use only union labor, and other ideas would need legislative approval.

Though lawmakers were considering legislation on data centers before they broke for the summer, Ramaswami has expressed support for data centers but has said they need to pay for their own power.

A spokesman said in a statement that Ramaswami has been taking tough questions from Ohioans on data centers for a year, while Acton has been in hiding, and that now she's only parroting his ideas.

Temporary protected status ended Monday for tens of thousands of Haitians who were living legally in Ohio, who have now lost their work permits and fear deportation is imminent.

While around 30,000 Haitians live in central Ohio, that's been a lot of attention on Springfield.

With the Haitian population there between 12,000 and 15,000.

Governor Mike DeWine, who was called the termination of TPS a mistake and said Haiti is hell, today, told reporters this week that federal officials are saying there are no plans for raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Ice.

But that is not reassuring for those Haitians, some of whom have been in the US since the 1990s.

I talked about the end of TPS for Haitians with Carl Ruby, the senior pastor of Central Christian Church in Springfield and the founder of G90 two, a coalition of faith based groups working with immigrant communities in Springfield.

we think that the vast majority of Americans don't want to see Haitians deported to places where their families are in danger of losing their lives.

Their daughters are in danger of being raped.

And we're just trying to get the word out about how awful the conditions in Haiti are, and to respectfully ask Ice just to honor what the president has repeatedly publicly stated, and that is that they only focus on the worst of the worst.

So we, you know, we understand the importance of border security.

We understand the importance of deporting violent offenders.

But this is entirely different.

And I don't think and statistics show the vast majority of Americans don't want this.

Thousands of Haitian immigrants living in Ohio, not only in Springfield, but also in central Ohio, could be deported at any point.

Have you gotten any indication that Ice is planning a surge, or that there's going to be any sort of action?

No.

Are you expecting such?

The president has mentioned Springfield so often, it's hard to imagine that there won't be.

I think that I think that they are also relying very heavily on trying to get people to self deport by taking away their means of survival.

So the Haitian families I work with, they have a longer term fear of being killed or harmed in Haiti, but they have a short term fear of how am I going to pay my rent next week?

How am I going to put groceries on the table?

So we're doing a press conference today.

And part of our goal is to raise the awareness of the need for financial support for the nonprofits in Clark County that are bearing the brunt of serving our Haitian families.

And as of the expiration of TPS on Monday, does that mean that any work permits expired?

That's the work.

Yeah, they lost their work permits and their ability to drive on Monday.

And what's been the impact of that on on those folks?

I have not talked with a lot of them since then.

I have spoken with some who are trying to make their way to other countries, whether they do that legally or illegally, they fear for their lives.

So they are willing to take that risk.

You know, I think someone asked me yesterday about what their thoughts are on the offer for the government to give them.

$2,600 if they relocate.

And I guess I would just ask my, my fellow Ohioans and Americans to to think about how $2,600 compares to the safety of your children.

You know, I know some families who have, beautiful teenage girls, and they are terrified of taking them back, back to Haiti, where sexual violence is so, so prevalent.

And even our State Department, you know, the website warns of the sexual violence that's being used.

So they fear that they fear kidnaping attempts.

And these are people these are not idle fears.

They've been through this already.

You know, I know one family.

They've survived two kidnaping attempts.

And their, their young son just a few weeks ago.

Talk to me about hiding under a desk of a school while he heard gunfire in the hallway.

And people were trying to find him to kidnap him.

A similar thing happened to his mom.

So I just want Americans to ask themselves, are you really comfortable sending a child back into that environment?

And we're going to we're going to respectfully ask Ice not to come to Springfield.

We're going to ask our senators to state their public support for Senate Bill 4814, the Haitian Temporary Temporary Protected Status.

Did you already have the bill?

4814 you already have Senator Bernie Moreno, who has publicly said that he supports the end of TPS.

He believes that Haitians are self deporting or should be self deporting.

So what kind of answer do you expect from members of Congress?

I'm pessimistic.

People like Senator Marino, they are putting ideology ahead of human lives.

We're going to ask Senator Husted to make a public statement of his position and ask him for his support.

I think Ohio voters have a right to know that, where he stands on this issue, because it will affect the economy here in Springfield and across Ohio.

So if they're for that, I'd like them to say so.

I can't imagine doing that.

Now, you mentioned that the State Department has said don't travel to Haiti.

The Department of Homeland Security has said that in the expiration of TPS, that it's it was meant to be temporary.

It's okay to go back to Haiti.

Haiti is is a safe country now.

But you even have governor Mike DeWine, who has long ties to Haiti, saying it's hell.

Well, what came out in the recent support Supreme Court case that actually went against Haitians, went in favor of the president, was that Homeland Security never did an investigation.

They announced they were ending TPS before they ever checked on the safety.

And it also came out that when they asked the State Department, they received an email response saying conditions are not safe in Haiti.

We advise you to extend TPS.

So that's the truth.

And the Supreme Court didn't say that what the president is doing with TPS is legal.

What they said is we don't think we have jurisdiction over it.

So I think that's an important distinction, and I would encourage people who say it's temporary is just go back and read the Immigration Act of 1990 and the section on TPS.

And it's it's extremely clear when it when a TPS time frame ends, the president only has three options.

The president can extend TPS, the president can expand TPS, or the president can terminate it if he has done a study and determined that conditions are safe.

And we all know that hasn't happened.

Now, you've been preparing for this for years.

You've been raising money and working with the community.

What is the community looking for now from you?

I mean, you talk about they are considering you've got members who are considering going to other countries, for instance.

What the city is looking for is, I think, moral guidance and an example.

Many people want to help and just don't know how to G90 two is the organization that I am associated with and we don't want money.

We are a ad hoc organization of churches.

We are unincorporated.

We don't have tax exempt status.

So when I ask for financial support, I'm not asking for my own group.

But their organizations like Saint Vincent de Paul, the Haitian Support Center, they need huge amounts of money in the millions because they're the ones that are helping to pay rent, helping to buy food, helping with legal expenses.

And they just are not resourced to serve the number of people who need their help.

And that's not just a tragedy for Haitians.

That's a tragedy for landlords and businesses.

And, you know, so many people talk about the original act here from 1990.

I think that there are a lot of rumors and stories that these are Haitians who were brought to Ohio fairly recently, brought by whatever administration.

Some of these people have been in the community for years.

Yeah, I've been accused of bringing Haitians to Springfield and profiting by that, but it's just not true.

TPS is for people who are already in the United States.

So you don't apply for TPS in Haiti and then come to the United States.

Temporary protected status is for people who are already here, and we deem that it's unsafe for them to return when their their regular visa or work permit expires.

So no one is coming into the United States on TPS.

So that's false.

No one is bringing Haitians to Springfield.

At least I've seen absolutely no evidence of that.

They're conspiracy theories and they want all of the.

Attention and trust that conspiracy theories should have none.

Governor Mike DeWine and others have said that one of the reasons that so many Haitians went to Springfield is because there were jobs.

And as we mentioned, they lost their work permits at the end of TPS.

What is the impact on the economy?

I mean, DeWine has said that he's concerned about the impact on Springfield's economy.

Absolutely.

You know, landlords aren't going to be paid.

The amount that they spend in our community is going to go down, and that's going to that's going to produce a hit on our county government, which is funded by sales tax.

Businesses are going to have to pull back.

Some of them have already done that in in anticipation of this happening, because many businesses, they have to they have to put bids in on jobs months in advance.

And if they live under the constant threat of their workforce being deported, they can't do that.

So this has already had an economic toll, and it's only going to get worse.

And we need outside contributions because these same organizations that are serving Haitians are serving veterans and other citizens of our county, homeless people, disabled people, mentally ill people.

So everyone suffers because of this, and it's totally unnecessary.

One of the other things that's commonly brought up is that these folks, these Haitians, are absorbing all sorts of government services, but they're also taking jobs that Ohioans could be doing.

I mean, why your business is not hiring Ohioans?

Why did they turn to the Haitian workforce?

Well, what I have heard from from employers is they like Haitian workers because they always show up.

They take as much over time as they can get, and they always pass drug tests.

I mean, they are the ideal employees in terms of dependability and production, and they work hard and they work very hard.

And it's a typical thing that all immigrants have, and that is that sense that they have to prove themselves.

So they are great workers.

And we're already, you know, businesses have already scaled back in the year after the comment about cats and dogs.

Springfield had been the fastest growing city in America.

Year or so before that, the year after that comment.

We led the state in job loss.

So that's the impact that that statement has had on our community.

And it's still haunts, I imagine, members of the community.

There are still these pertinent rumors.

There are still these rumors.

There are rumors because people want to believe them and they want to believe awful things because that justifies their prejudices.

So it's hard it's hard to put those rumors to rest.

But in this case, the person who started the rumor has acknowledged it, has apologized for it.

Another thing that I think is very important to know is that one of the strongest advocates for Haitians in Springfield is Nathan Clark, the father of Aiden Clark, who was killed in a school bus accident.

He is a very strong advocate for Haitians and has begged people not to defame the reputation of his son by dragging him into this.

So I have great admiration, admiration for the Clark family.

It was.

I even been attacked.

I mean, people have attacked them because they have expressed support and that's that's just that's just evil.

I just don't know how a human being can stoop that low.

Yeah.

It was a Haitian driver who was involved in that accident.

But yes, he has said very publicly he doesn't want his son's name to be used in this way.

I want to I want to ask you one final question here.

In some cases, you've got families that would literally be split because you've got Haitians who have TPS that expired, but their kids were born here, or their other family members are naturalized.

So families are in this very difficult position of having to decide, stay here illegally or split the family and go home or bring the kids with them.

I'm having conversations with a family today who are wrestling with that issue and that that's the dilemma that families face.

Do I abandon, do I leave my children and lose contact with them, or do I take them to a place where we are going to be potential targets of violence and people who have had TPS and go back?

They have a mark on their backs.

I mean, they are not.

They are more at risk than the typical Haitian.

And that's why we are organizing churches and synagogues and other faith groups and just people of goodwill to to peacefully and nonviolently resist this.

And we are asking people we.

You know, to to join us if necessary.

We, we we are totally committed to peace and nonviolence.

We're totally committed to to not harming property.

Our only goal is to prevent people from losing their lives or being raped or tortured.

And it's not my job as a pastor to tell people not to obey state or federal laws.

It is my job as a pastor to tell people to obey God's laws over man's laws.

And we look to the example of Martin Luther King, and there are some laws that are so unjust.

We have a duty to break them.

Ruby has said he's been told that Ice would make it harder for Haitians who want to stay in the US and pursue asylum cases.

A statement from DHS said they are being offered $2,600 and a flight to Haiti, but those who don't Self-support quote will be arrested and deported without a chance to return.

For the last week, the Ohio State Fair has had near back to back ribbon cutting.

It's a huge relief for one of the biggest fans, governor Mike DeWine, who is months away from his final term ending.

State House correspondent Sarah Donaldson reports from the midway.

After a few years of demolition, renovation and new construction.

Buildings Old Anew are welcoming visitors to the 171st Ohio State Fair.

This version of the historic summer tradition cost the state about $460 million.

My fellow Highlands, welcome to the new Ohio State Fair.

Governor Mike DeWine multi-year 2015 master plan, re-envisioning the 360 acres of fairground land in Columbus is now in the rear view.

DeWine says the goal was always to answer this question what should this fair look like in 2050?

Well, we beat the day a little bit, beat the timetable a little bit.

It's a little earlier in 2050, but we still have a little more.

More to go.

Just off the midway stand, two shiny new buildings, the Ohio Showcase Building and the Ohio Agriculture Center.

Aside from the new foods, the new exhibits executive Director Adam Heffron brags more air conditioning.

We don't need it today, but we will.

As the fair progresses along the Ohio State Fair is often going on during the hottest weeks of the year in the Midwest.

Elsewhere, the Dairy Products Building, home of the renowned Butter Cow, got a facelift.

The nearby Bricker Building has a new bathroom, and DeWine is just glad it all got done in time for the 2026 fair.

We had a deadline.

It was the beginning of the fair and they have met the deadline.

But as he gets ready to retire from elected office, DeWine is walking the midway like any other year, sharing a Schmidt's cream puff with First Lady Fran DeWine.

Some of his kids with some of their kids in tow.

All this after fielding half an hour of questions from local media.

The state recently entered into a $2 million settlement.

Cream puffs are coming up, man.

Come on.

He's not really answering the ones about his own lake, is he as governor?

This is a great day.

We'll continue to be a great day, but I look forward to the things that we're going to do over the next few months.

So I'm I'm sort of a what's next, next guy here.

Many buildings are named after former governors, including every governor since Michael DCO, who lost reelection in 1962.

But there is one exception.

DeWine has moved to fix it, asking the fair board to name the North Commercial Building for Democrat Ted Strickland.

DeWine doesn't have a building named for him yet, but he's already left his mark nowhere more so than the new children's carousel.

Hand-carved in Marion.

The DeWine chose the animals, features standard horses and farm animals, but also to cardinals.

The butter cow, the state's official fossil fish, a monarch butterfly, a bison.

And Dolly the DeWine, beloved English Springer Spaniel.

We as Ohioans don't brag a lot, people.

Some other states do brag.

We just don't brag a lot.

And I want I want this fair.

And I want everything that we do to reflect how unique and how great I think Ohio is.

The Ohio State Fair runs through Sunday, August 9th.

Sarah Donaldson, Statehouse News Bureau.

that's it for this week for my colleagues at the state House News Bureau of Ohio Public Media.

Thanks for watching.

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Support for the Statehouse News Bureau comes from the law offices of Porter, Wright, Morris and Arthur LLP.

Porter Wright is dedicated to bringing inspired legal outcomes to the Ohio business community.

More at Porter Wright.com.

Porter Wright.

inspired every day.

And from the Ohio education Association, representing 120,000 educators who are united in their mission to create the excellent public schools every child deserves.

More at OHEA.org