Springfield, Ohio, has received national attention this election cycle due to the huge number of Haitian immigrants who have settled in the city over the past few years, but some of those immigrants have already packed up their bags. The overwhelming victory of Mr. Trump, who left after the president.
The town has fewer than 60,000 residents, according to the 2020 census, but after decades of population decline, it has struggled to accommodate a surge of 15,000 to 20,000 Haitian immigrants. are. Residents complain that the uncontrolled influx has depleted resources and services, made the town less safe, raised rents and increased wait times for medical and social services.
Local residents have particularly expressed dissatisfaction with road safety, arguing that immigrants with little driving experience in their home countries are being allowed onto the roads too easily, creating dangerous conditions on the roads. There is.
Many of these immigrants had gained the ability to live and work in the United States for a period of time thanks to Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and were settled in their communities, but President-elect Trump stripped them of such permission during his campaign. suggested that he intended to do so, and caused fear. Some immigrants have already fled the city ahead of President Trump's return.
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A sign welcoming drivers to the city of Springfield, Ohio. (Michael Lee/Fox News Digital)
“People are leaving,” Margery Coveleski of the Haitian Community Alliance (HCA) told the Guardian.
“Some people don't have credit cards or access to the internet and want to buy bus tickets or plane tickets. So we help them book flights.”
HCA co-founder Jacob Payen, whose businesses include helping Haitians prepare their tax returns in Springfield, also told the publication that there is an exodus of immigrants.
“People are well aware of the election results and that's why they are leaving. They are afraid of mass deportations,” Payen said.
“Some of my clients have left. One guy went to New Jersey with his family, another went to Boston. I know of three families who went to Canada.”
According to the Guardian, some Haitian migrants appear to have moved to nearby cities such as Dayton in hopes of making them less visible to law enforcement, while others who had temporarily lived in exile in Brazil have returned to the South American country. It is said that they are considering it. quoted a community leader.
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Police patrol the streets of Port-au-Prince during rampant gang violence on April 23, 2024, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (Reuters/Ralph Teddy Errol)
Migrants have continued to flee their home countries since 2018, when protests erupted on the island shared with the Dominican Republic, plunging it into a political crisis. Gang violence has exploded in the country, and the transitional council fired Haiti's Prime Minister Garry Coniel earlier this month and replaced him just six months later.
Springfield became a flashpoint in the presidential election after President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance claimed Haitian immigrants were eating their pets there.
“They're eating the dogs, they're eating the people coming in, they're eating the cats,” President Trump said on stage during a debate against Vice President Harris. “They're eating the pets of the people who live there. This is what's happening in our country and it's unfortunate.”
President Trump also vowed to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history, appointed hardline South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and appointed Tom Homan as the new Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Appointed “Border Emperor”. . ”
DHS oversees U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Secret Intelligence Service, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Noem will also oversee TPS, which has sent the National Guard to the southern border several times in recent years.
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A Haitian immigrant living in Mexico (left) and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance (right) who claimed immigrants in Springfield were eating their pets. ((Photo Credit: Jeff Swensen/Getty Images and Daniel Cardenas/Anadolu via Getty Images))
Payen believes that if large groups of Haitian immigrants leave town, it will have a negative impact on the local economy and other states.
The Guardian reports that while Haitian immigrants have helped revitalize the region by providing thousands of jobs in local packaging and car factories, Haitian restaurants regularly source their ingredients from other states. It was reported that
“I pay thousands of dollars in income and property taxes every year,” Payen told the outlet. “And I work with Haitians on their taxes, so I look at their W-2s and stuff. If they leave, that money goes out of the city and out of the local economy.”
