Springfield, Ohio – When an Ohio town saw its population boom with the influx of thousands of Haitian refugees, it had to contend with different cultures and driving habits as it adjusted to a new reality.
“I'm a little shocked that we've had almost 20,000 people coming into a community of 60,000. There are issues between the people who live here and the people who are coming in,” Ohio Rep. Kyle Kahler told Fox News Digital.
The remarks come as Springfield, located about 50 miles west of Columbus, has received national attention in recent weeks, most recently when former President Donald Trump mentioned the town in his responses at Tuesday's debate.
“They're eating dogs, they're eating people who come in, they're eating cats,” Trump said while answering a question about immigration. “They're eating people's pets that live there. This is what's happening in our country, and it's unfortunate.”
Springfield, Ohio residents attend city council meeting to share frustration over the immigration crisis hitting their community
Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump debated Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris for the first time during a presidential campaign event at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 10, 2024. Harris, who won the Democratic nomination following President Joe Biden's decision to drop out of the race, faced off against Trump in what may be her only debate in the 2024 race for the White House. (Photo by Winn McNamee/Getty Images) (Win McNamee)
The issue has also been highlighted by Ohio Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno, who argued that the Biden administration's “open border” policies have “flooded Springfield, Ohio, by the thousands of illegal Haitians, siphoning off social services and destroying small towns here in Ohio.”
“Like Sen. Sherrod Brown and Sen. Kamala Harris have said, we need to deport illegal immigrants so they don't come in and wreak havoc in our communities,” Moreno told Fox News Digital.
While local officials and some media outlets have disputed the points Trump made during the debate, there are still new realities facing longtime residents of the Springfield community, the biggest of which, Koehler said, is the cultural differences between locals and the Haitian refugees who are new to town.
Shown here is the Haitian Community Center in Springfield, Ohio. (Michael Lee/Fox News Digital)
A lake in Snyder Park in Springfield, Ohio, where locals say Haitian refugees are catching, slaughtering, and eating geese. (Michael Lee/Fox News Digital)
“They don't understand the law, they don't understand some of our customs, and we don't understand some of their customs, and that clash and the overwhelming number of people that show up at one time really creates problems,” said Koehler, who is now running for state senate to represent the area.
As another extreme example, Koehler recalled a secondhand story he had heard at a local Walmart about “people coming into the Walmart on a Saturday morning, going into the bathroom, taking off their clothes and taking a bath.”
State Rep. Kyle Kahler said he heard secondhand about migrants disrobing and bathing in bathrooms at a Springfield Walmart. (Michael Lee/Fox News Digital)
Focus group responds to Trump's claim that immigrants are 'eating dogs' in Ohio town
“Again, this is not something we do here, this is something other cultures do, or people who don't understand the culture we're in,” Koehler said. “Whether it's true or not, these stories are getting spread and they make things worse for our community.”
Another issue of concern among local residents is road safety, Koehler noted.
“Driving in the city is awful,” Koehler said, noting that much of the problem is down to cultural differences.
One notable incident occurred in the area last October when a school bus carrying dozens of children collided with a minivan, injuring more than 20 children and killing Aiden Clark.
The driver of the minivan was later identified as Hermanio Joseph, a Haitian immigrant who was convicted earlier this year of manslaughter and vehicular homicide in the case.
The tragic incident has increased tensions in the community, with Koehler noting that road safety was one of the most prominent concerns for local residents.
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Ohio Rep. Kyle Kahler (Fox News) (Courtesy of Kyle Koehler)
“We're seeing a really extraordinary number of car accidents,” Koehler said. “Not just the number, but the severity. When you're on a road with a 35 mph speed limit and you have a car sitting on its hood, and we're not talking about one car, we're talking about five or six accidents a week, it makes you wonder.”
Still, Koehler emphasized Springfield's positives, arguing that the city was once in decline but is now on the mend.
“Our town is great,” Koehler said.
