Tens of thousands of Haitian nationals have taken over a small city in southwestern Ohio, and now they comprise about a third of the town's population. Matt touched on some of the insane stories out of Ohio of Haitians allegedly consuming cats and decapitating ducks, though local law enforcement has denied receiving reports related to such cat-eating claims, saying it's "not something that's on our radar right now."
Nevertheless, the arrival of 15,000 to 20,000 Haitians in Springfield specifically — home to 58,000 or so residents — is a case study of how the Biden-Harris administration's border crisis is wreaking havoc on America's heartland.
How Did They Get Here?
Why did they pick Springfield, a place far from the border?
In 2020, a surge of Haitians swarmed Ohio supposedly in search of work. Settling on Springfield, a municipality with a shrinking population but blue-collar jobs abound, the new arrivals found a tiny-ish town that's easy to embed themselves in. Word also got around that the cost of living is relatively low, and the appeal attracted them in droves.
Hailing from Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, many of them made a pitstop in Mexico and used CBP One, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection mobile app that allows aliens to book their immigration processing appointments. This free application was implemented as an "orderly" way to "streamline" entry into the country.
From there, they are processed through the Immigration Parole Program. Then, they typically obtain Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which lets them temporarily stay in the U.S. with special legal status. Meanwhile, others claim asylum on humanitarian grounds.
They cannot be deported while granted TPS. Although TPS doesn't provide a direct path to U.S. citizenship, it does allow immigrants to apply for a work permit while here. They're also legally qualified to receive financial assistance, healthcare services, and education.
In June, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas extended Haiti's TPS designation through February 2026, citing "extraordinary" conditions on the island ravaged by gang violence.
"We are providing this humanitarian relief to Haitians already present in the United States given the conditions that existed in their home country as of June 3, 2024," said Mayorkas. "In doing so, we are realizing the core objective of the TPS law and our obligation to fulfill it."
Who's Helping Them?
Mayor Rob Rue said that Springfield officials were in the dark about the unprecedented amount of Haitians arriving at their doorstep, but "a network of businesses knew what was coming."
In response, the city's "immigrant accountability" taskforce began investigating the possibility that "there were companies that knew they were going to make an effort to bring in individuals who were crossing the border based on federal regulations that they could do that."
"I'm upset at the fact we didn't get a chance to have an infrastructure in place if there were going to be 20,000 more people from 2020 to 2025. We didn't get to do that," Rue stated during a convening of the city commission in early July.
"Springfield is now saturated," he declared.
Asked about government interactions "with the people who have planned this," Rue replied, "We're not interacting with them; we're investigating."
Rue, noting that the investigation is ongoing, indicated that a report of the team's findings is forthcoming. "We want to make sure that the investigation is complete and we don't ruin the investigation of anything before we're able to speak to it," Rue said.
Ten years ago, city officials adopted a resolution declaring Springfield a "welcoming city" for immigrants. However, "that doesn't mean we are actively bringing immigrants into our community," Rue said.
Several Springfield business owners, seemingly the only ones elated about the Haitian invasion, have openly expressed their eagerness to hire Haitian laborers.
"The Haitians were there to fill those positions," commented Jamie McGregor, chief executive of McGregor Metal, which was short of workers after investing millions to boost production.
Talking to The New York Times, McGregor noted that the family-owned manufacturer needed machine operators, forklift drivers, and quality inspectors. Now, immigrants constitute a tenth of McGregor's workforce.
The New York Times also interviewed one of the company's Haitian workers, who makes $19 an hour and has a 401(k) as well as health insurance. He has even been able to buy a home in Miami, which he rents out. In Springfield, he shares a house with three other Haitian men. Together they pay $2,400 in rent.
A new Haitian Community Help and Support Center has cropped up downtown, marketed as a one-stop shop for Haitians to set up accounts with Columbia Gas and Ohio Edison, obtain food stamps, get on Medicaid, and obtain car insurance.
According to a Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) analysis of the fiscal burden imposed by open-border policies, illegal immigration cost Ohio taxpayers approximately $785.2 million in 2023.
A Town Overrun
Since their takeover, these immigrants reportedly terrorized longtime locals, including one woman who says she was forced out of her home of 45 years because homeless Haitians had begun squatting on her property. In August, the aggrieved native addressed Springfield's city commission and publicly shared her plight.
"I'm done with what I'm seeing," the woman named Noel, whose voice trembled with emotion, told the city commissioners. "It is so unsafe in my neighborhood anymore."
"It is so unsafe," the local lamented. "I have men that cannot speak English in my front yard screaming at me, throwing mattresses [and] throwing trash in my front yard."
"Look at me," she said. "I weigh 95 pounds. I couldn't defend myself if I had to."
A Springfield, Ohio, woman sounds the alarm on homeless Haitian illegal immigrants trying to squat on her front lawn. “𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐞, 𝐈 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝟗𝟓 𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬, 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐢𝐟 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨.”
— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) September 9, 2024
“𝐈’𝐦 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈’𝐦… pic.twitter.com/CTch3HOJUa
She recalled how her elderly husband declared, "It's time to pack up and move," after decades of living there. "We can't do this anymore. It's killing both of us mentally."
Calling out the city officials, she said, "I don't know what you expect of us as citizens." She noted the significant strain currently on city services to support the horde of Haitians residing in Springfield. "I understand that they are here under temporary protective status and you are protecting them."
"Who's protecting us if we're protecting them?" she pleaded. "Who's protecting me?
"I want out of this town," she concluded. Prior to walking away from the podium, she added: "Please give me a reason to stay."
The number of Haitians in Springfield continues to swell, with the unchecked influx creating a housing crisis and sparking concerns in the community about public safety.
City Manager Bryan Heck has since sent a letter urgently asking U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Tim Scott (R-SC), ranking members of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, for federal help handling the housing situation. U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) presented the letter at a hearing before the congressional committee. Vance said that the town trying to build 5,000 new housing units is "a very Herculean task" for a jurisdiction of its small size.
Tensions boiled over last year when a school bus crash, caused by a Haitian national driving a minivan, left an 11-year-old boy on board the bus dead.
36-year-old Hermanio Joseph, the Haitian minivan driver convicted of killing 11-year-old Aiden Clark, did not have a valid Ohio driver's license. At the time, he had a foreign one from Mexico.
11-year-old Aiden Clarke was kiIIed on his way to school in Springfield, Ohio.
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) September 9, 2024
His kiIIer was a Haitian illegal alien.
DHS (Biden-Harris) let him in. pic.twitter.com/oiuiJHEBjO
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson confirmed to Breitbart that Joseph had recently crossed the United States-Mexico border in August 2022. Upon arrival, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued him a Notice To Appear (NTA) in federal immigration court. He was then released into the U.S. and eventually ended up in Ohio (via Breitbart):
National Immigration Center for Enforcement (NICE) advisory board member John Fabbricatore told Breitbart News that President Joe Biden's expansive Catch and Release network at the border is ultimately responsible.
"The Biden administration's 'welcome and release' agenda continues to put our communities at risk," Fabbricatore, a former senior ICE official, said. "Their goal is to let in as many poorly vetted illegal aliens as possible, often without proper GPS tracking or scheduled court appearances. When will this administration put public safety first, or is mass migration more important?"
Following his arrest for killing Aiden, ICE agents placed a detainer on Joseph requesting custody of him if he is released from Clark County custody at any time.
On August 22, 2023, Joseph's vehicle traveling along state Route 41 jumped across the center divider, swerved into the opposite lane, and struck oncoming traffic. He rammed into the school bus carrying Clark and dozens of other elementary school students en route to their first day of classes. The bus, which ejected Clark out of the emergency hatch, flipped over and ultimately landed on the little boy.
For Clark's death, Judge Douglas Rastatter sentenced Joseph to an indefinite term of nine to 13.5 years in prison with two to five years of post-release control. Joseph's prison stretch will be revisited based on behavior and other factors. During sentencing, Ratstatter determined that Joseph deserved "some degree of mercy and grace, but not much," according to The Springfield News-Sun.
Townhall is continuing to look into the situation unfolding in Springfield.
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