Washington County Republicans object to MVA statement on migrants

Sean Logue, chairman of the county party, plans to file complaints with the IRS and the Pennsylvania Department of State.

The Washington County Republican Party has announced its intention to take action against the Mon Valley Alliance for a statement released Friday in response to former Donald Trump’s comments about Charleroi.

In a campaign speech Thursday in Tucson, Ariz. Trump referenced Charleroi as a small 4,000-person town and brought up “Haitian migrants” who have moved to the borough over the past few years.

His remarks spread quickly as video clips on social media and have since cast a national spotlight on the borough.

Responding to Trump’s comments, council President Kristin Hopkins-Calcek and the Mon Valley Alliance, a local economic development organization, released a joint statement.

“In response to Donald Trump’s mention of Charleroi, Pa., during his recent address in Tucson, Ariz., the borough of Charleroi and the Mon Valley Alliance express deep concern over the representation of our community’s challenges,” the statement read. “We need to address the real issues facing the borough, such as the widespread job losses resulting from corporate closures.

“Charleroi’s recent emergence into the spotlight highlights the urgent challenges we face and helps outline the essential steps needed to address them.

“Charleroi, a borough steeped in a rich history of immigration, has seen its population rise by 2,000 residents for the first time in decades, thanks mainly to the arrival of Haitian immigrants. Fleeing persecution and devastating conditions in their homeland, these new residents came seeking freedom and happiness, much like the town’s early European immigrants. Yet, unlike their predecessors, they’ve MVA •A5

“The MVA is supposed to be a non-partisan, economic development, non-profit. Obviously, they are an extension of the Crime Party.”

SEAN LOGUE

WASHINGTON COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY CHAIRMAN