With nearly 20,000 Haitian migrants relocated to Springfield, Ohio, the city is facing public scrutiny and strained public service systems.
During Tuesday’s presidential debate, former President Donald Trump referenced Springfield, Ohio, a town nestled in between Columbus and Dayton, and recent reports of an influx of Haitian immigrants killing and eating residents’ pets. Trump’s remarks caused a roar of indignation and repudiation among online left-wing activists and news organizations.
A variety of news outlets went into overdrive to declare Trump’s statement as false. The truth appears to be a bit murky. While Trump said migrants were “eating the dogs”, there are no reports of dogs or other pets being hunted, killed, or eaten by Haitian migrants.
But recent reporting proves local law enforcement was called two weeks ago when a resident spotted Haitian migrants “snatching geese near a city park.”
One resident told Fox News the city’s “geese and duck populations have been nearly decimated.”
Regardless of questions over residents’ pets going missing or being eaten, the city of just under 60,000 people is facing a crisis. Social services and law enforcement are overwhelmed according to Mayor Rob Rue, who told NewsNation that the city’s infrastructure is under strain after nearly 20,000 Haitian migrants have been relocated to the city. Rue listed safety services, hospitals, and public schools being most affected.
The day before the debate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s vice-presidential running mate, posted on X scolding the press and activists who he claims, “didn’t give a shit about these suffering Americans until yesterday.” Vance echoed Mayor Rue, saying local health services are overwhelmed and “communicable diseases—like TB and HIV—have been on the rise.”
Vice President Kamala Harris told The View in an undated interview that the Biden-Harris administration gave “temporary protective status” to 55,000 Haitian migrants and extended the same status to more than 100,000 Haitians already in the United States.
Residents and local advocates are complaining to the city, saying Americans eligible financial and social assistance are being evicted or ignored in favor of Haitian migrants for whom landlords can “charge the government triple the rent.”
One man addressed the city commission to complain about the bureaucrats sending Haitian migrants to the city, as well as local and state police targeting minor traffic infractions but ignoring the migrants’ illegal driving and collisions. Now that the spotlight on Springfield has grown, Springfield native and celebrity John Legend has come under fire for asking his former neighbors to “embrace” the migrants, with comments on his social media post criticizing him and saying he should accept “a few hundred Haitians” to live with him in Hollywood.
