By Calvin Pynn, contributor
Several dozen people pressed Republican U.S. Rep. Ben Cline on Monday evening about their concerns regarding potential mass deportations of immigrants and LGBTQ+ people’s rights during Donald Trump’s second term.
The town hall-style event at the Harrisonburg IHOP was Cline’s first public meeting with constituents since winning his fourth election to represent Virginia’s 6th District in Congress. The event kicked off a series Cline will conduct across the district’s 19 localities in the months leading up to the 119th U.S. Congress. Cline said he likes to revisit localities where he didn’t get a majority of the vote in the election, including Harrisonburg.
“This part of the district is still critical for me and very important to me, and I want to hear what issues are important to you,” Cline said. “And if you disagree with me or the votes that I took, then I want to hear about that and how we can work to find issues where we can work together moving forward.”
Anxieties around a second Trump term
Some people who attended the town hall confronted Cline about his position on the proposed policies of the incoming Trump administration. Questions about the president-elect’s promises of mass deportation of undocumented immigrants came up frequently throughout the evening.
Harrisonburg resident Dennis Showalter told Cline he was concerned about how mass deportations could have a ripple effect on the local economy, particularly in the poultry industry, which relies heavily on immigrant labor.
“Many immigrants work in our poultry plants, the one in Dayton has about 90 percent,” Showalter said. “I am concerned that mass deportations may adversely affect our large poultry industry and the farmers that send their chickens to be processed.”
Cline emphasized the need for immigration reform, saying that the focus should be on securing the U.S. border and prioritizing the deportation of undocumented individuals with criminal records.
“With regard to those who are currently here illegally, I would argue that any effort to remove those people should start with those who are in our jails, in our prisons, who have committed crimes in the United States or who have committed crimes in their home countries and then entered this country against our laws,” Cline said.
Cline also stressed the importance of enforcing laws to prevent employers from hiring undocumented workers.
Another Harrisonburg resident, who introduced herself as “Tee” and identified as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, asked Cline what he will do to protect the community during the incoming presidential administration. In particular, she was concerned about the overturning of marriage equality rulings after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
“We’re already talking about dissolving one issue, why wouldn’t it be another?” she asked. “If something were to happen, would you be able to look at me or any of my group of friends and say ‘I support you in your decision, you can go get married.’”
He declined to give his view on that issue, but said the Supreme Court’s decisions would be followed, as they currently stand, to uphold those rights.
“I’ve tried to express that justice should be blind and that the status of the victim should not be taken into account when prosecutors and law enforcement pursue justice and enforce the laws,” Cline said. “And I can tell you that I will continue to stand by that and I will defend all the citizens of Harrisonburg. I represent you in the Judiciary Committee.”
Cline’s priorities
When Cline returns to the Capitol, it will mark the first time since he was elected that the Republican Party will control the U.S. House, Senate and White House. Cline said he expects a different dynamic in Washington come January.
“Now that we align in many of our views, the legislation is where the rubber meets the road,” Cline said. “It’s where the president’s vision is going to be put into action and where Congress is going to express its views on exactly which portions they agree with and which portions they don’t.”
As a member of the House Judiciary Committee, Cline said one of his priorities will be to hold the outgoing administration of Joe Biden accountable. He specifically singled out the Justice Department, which he claimed was weaponized against the GOP.
“It was being used to target conservative views in the media, online,” Cline said. “It was being used to target conservative individuals, and the fact that those individuals were being targeted who just wanted to express their views on what their children were being taught in schools. There is going to be a need for a house cleaning of the Justice Department.”
Cline serves on the House Appropriations Committee, which focuses on funding priorities and oversight, as well as the Budget Committee. He told constituents at the event that they are currently working on a farm bill that could prioritize support for small farmers in the Shenandoah Valley and also focus on nutrition programs.
Cline’s series of town hall meetings continued Tuesday in Roanoke. He plans to return to the Shenandoah Valley to conduct a town hall meeting in Rockingham County, although a date has yet to be scheduled.
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