Officials in Ohio’s larger metro areas are preparing for an influx of immigrants who have come to the United States as a result of the lifting of Title 42 as the country’s COVID-19 emergency has ended.

It is important to properly describe these immigrants, who are coming to Ohio in much the same way as did many ancestors of families who have been in the Buckeye State for generations.

“These are folks who are coming into the States legally under national and international law and applying for asylum because they’re fearing persecution in their home countries,” Graham Ball, development associate at U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, told News 5 Cleveland.

Among the countries from which immigrants are expected are Venezuela, Cuba, Honduras and other countries in Central America and South America. Cleveland and some other Ohio regions have been welcoming refugees from Ukraine — and before that, Afghanistan — for a couple of years now.

“We have a very, very welcoming Hispanic community. We have a great Latino culture. We’ve got places where people can work, where they can come here and learn our language, learn our culture.” Joe Cimperman, the president and CEO of Global Cleveland told News 5 Cleveland. “… You give somebody a little bit of a place to stand, and they start to make their way, and they start to fulfill their own American dream. So we think that we are ready for it.”

We should all be ready for it. Though there may be some who try to twist this narrative for a few tainted political points, the reality is the process through which these immigrants are going is exactly what we who call our selves patriotic Americans should welcome. When the court does its works and northeast Ohio starts to feel too cramped, rural and Appalachian communities should throw their arms just as wide to welcome those seeking the American dream in our state.