Ohio: Governor Sending Troops, $2.5M To Springfield, Where Haitian Migrants Have Relocated To

By Brooke Mallory, OAN Staff
Wednesday, September 11, 2024 4:02 PM

The city of Springfield is dealing with an influx of illegal immigrants from Haiti that has drawn national attention to the area, and additional law enforcement and millions of dollars in funding are expected from Ohio's governor.

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Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, said Tuesday that a “Temporary Protected Status” program has allowed more than 15,000 Haitians into the city of 59,000 since 2020, but he believes the federal government needs to do more to help affected towns.

Springfield has become the center of one of the election's most contentious topics, with Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance saying “illegal Haitian immigrants” are “overloading social services and wreaking havoc.”

Springfield's population has grown by more than 20 percent in four years, largely due to illegal immigration. PBS Reported.

In an effort to stop the federal government from continuing to send “unlimited numbers of migrants into Ohio communities,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, a Republican, on Monday authorized his office to explore legal options, including potentially filing a lawsuit.

Governor DeWine said the state of Ohio has already provided Springfield with additional funding to assist with driver education and training, increase funding for vaccinations and health screenings in schools, and improve translation services.

“These dramatic increases in cases affect every resident, every citizen in our community,” he said, “from mothers who have to wait hours in waiting rooms with sick children, to everyone who drives on the road, to children attending more crowded classrooms.”

Officials said the Ohio State Highway Patrol will be deployed on Wednesday to assist local police in dealing with current traffic-related issues resulting from increased use of the roads by Haitians who are unfamiliar with U.S. traffic laws and have not adapted well to American culture.

DeWine said he also set aside $2.5 million over two years to expand basic health services provided by private medical facilities and county health departments.

Additionally, a 911 call from Springfield Police on Aug. 26 read:^NumberOn Tuesday, a local homeowner said four Haitian immigrants were found in a nearby park holding a dead goose with its neck broken.

Federalist The outlet also obtained audio of the man reporting the incident to a local dispatcher, which they included in their article.

“I'm sitting here, I was running on the trail, on my way to my orientation for work today, and I saw a group of Haitians, about four of them, all with geese in their hands,” the caller said.

A screenshot of a Facebook post from another Springfield resident on a local residents group also said that a friend's cat had recently gone missing and was later spotted preparing dinner in a Haitian immigrant's yard.

Some Springfield residents spoke out at a city council public meeting, saying the surge in Haitian immigrants and their “barbaric” way of hunting local animals for food is a horrific tragedy and has no place in their community.

However, a spokesperson for the Springfield Police Department still claims there are no “credible” reports that these actions involved illegal immigrants, seemingly gaslighting local residents and those who claim to have personally witnessed these situations.