Residents of Springfield, Ohio, are voicing their outrage after the sudden influx of Haitian immigrants has sparked numerous social issues...
Residents of Springfield, Ohio, are voicing their outrage after the sudden influx of Haitian immigrants has sparked numerous social issues, overwhelmed services, and worsened the housing crisis.
Up to 20,000 Haitian immigrants have moved to Springfield in the last few years, according to the city’s mayor. The last available Census data shows the city with a population of 58,000 people — meaning the sudden influx was about a third of the town’s population.
Residents’ concerns
Residents speaking at city commission meetings over recent months have complained about the influx of migrants, who have special legal status per the Biden-Harris administration.
A resident named Anthony Harris said at the August 27 meeting that migrants are grabbing ducks from the park, killing, and eating them.
“They’re in the park, grabbing up ducks, by their necks, and cutting their heads off and walking off with them, and eating them!” he said.
Another resident described the immigrants eating food inside grocery stores and stealing animals from local farmers.
“These are not civilized people,” she said, “opening containers in our grocery stores, helping themselves to what’s inside and throwing the rest onto the shelves and floors. Pulling off of the highway to publicly clean and gut the roadkill lying there in front of anyone that passes by. Stealing animals from farmers and leaving their severed heads at the site of an old school where children play. Relieving themselves in public. Making some barbaric stew out of the birds that live in our park. This is insanity. And it has to stop.”
Anthony Harris also referenced the immigrants overwhelming welfare services for residents. “I know a single mother who FaceTimed me … this morning at the welfare office, [who] really need something, like really need something. And it’s nothing but immigrants over there,” he said.
Similarly, another Springfield resident said her pregnant granddaughter was unable to get Medicaid for months.
“I have a 20-year-old granddaughter who works two jobs, pays city tax, and federal and state and all the other stuff,” the woman said. “She works two jobs. She’s pregnant. It took us four months to get Medicaid for that young lady, and she couldn’t have any of her tests done.”
“We can’t get through the doors of [Ohio Department Of Job And Family Services] to do anything,” she continued. “We can’t get through it, the line is so long. And that’s what we’ve done in the city: We have just brought too many dadgum people to come in here and be able to apply for ‘free stuff.’ And here we are, working, paying those taxes every week, for what? What? So she can’t get any help?”
Another resident said she and her elderly husband feel unsafe and think their only option is to move from their home, which has been overrun by homeless people.
“It is so unsafe in my neighborhood,” she said. “I have men who can’t speak English in my front yard screaming at me, throwing mattresses in my front yard, throwing trash in my front yard. And I can’t – look at me, I weigh 95 pounds. I couldn’t defend myself if I had to.”
‘I don’t understand what you expect of us as citizens,” the woman continued. “I mean, I understand they’re here under temporary protected status and you’re protecting them and I understand that — all city services are overwhelmed and understaffed.”
“But who’s protecting us?” she asked. “If we’re protecting them, who’s protecting me? I want out of this town. I am sorry.”
Harris and other residents also voiced their concerns about Haitians on the road. “These Haitians are running into trash cans, they’re running into buildings, they’re running into — they’re flipping cars in the middle of the street,” Harris said.
Notably, Springfield residents’ anger bubbled over last August when a Haitian immigrant crossed over the center dividing line and crashed into a school bus. An 11-year-old boy was killed, and more than 20 children were taken to the hospital. The migrant did not have a valid driver’s license and is facing 9 years behind bars for involuntary manslaughter.
The influx has also worsened the housing crisis, so much so that American citizens in Springfield are actually being displaced from their homes. A New York Times report outlined how Haitian migrants, who are generally on government assistance, are paying up to $3,000 a month in rent. Residents who can’t afford to pay that much have been pushed out.
Senator JD Vance, Trump’s VP pick, pressed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell about this issue, specifically citing Springfield’s troubles. Powell claimed migrants actually help quell inflation.
Why Springfield?
Citing the current turmoil in Haiti, the Biden-Harris administration in June gave 300,000 Haitians temporary legal status, which lasts until at least February 2026. This allows these migrants to remain and work in the U.S. until then, and possibly beyond. This was awarded to any Haitian in the U.S. who was here before or on June 3.
The increase is also due to the administration launching a controversial border app, CBP One, which allows migrants to apply for asylum right on their phones. Additionally, Biden began allowing up to 30,000 migrants per month from Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to fly directly into the U.S. for two years if they have financial sponsors.
As for Springfield, specifically, City Manager Bryan Heck said the town attracted migrants because of its affordable housing and job openings. The city was in turmoil for years, but had a turnaround when manufacturing picked up.
Notably, numerous residents have said they witnessed “buses” of these migrants being dropped off at gas stations and laundromats.
Citizens are also seeing three-fold increases in health care wait times, schools are overwhelmed with students, and hundreds of thousands of dollars are being spent on translators.
Other shocking reports
Posts also appear to show residents reporting to Springfield online groups about Haitians taking pets and eating them. One woman said a young female found her Haitian neighbors butchering her pet cat, apparently to eat. Springfield police on Monday, though, said they have not been made aware of this happening.
Other reports have also connected a woman in Ohio eating a neighbor’s cat to the Haitian immigrants, but the incident occurred two hours outside of Springfield. And according to journalist Andy Ngo, the woman is not a Haitian migrant.
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