SPRINGFIELD: Immigrants have changed the face of many cities over the years, but this one hasn’t gone unnoticed. SpringfieldOhio.
Its story of economic renewal and its attendant growing pains has been thrust into the national spotlight in a presidential election year — and maliciously distorted by false rumors that Haitian immigrants are eating their neighbors’ pets. Donald Trump amplified those falsehoods during Tuesday’s nationally televised debate, further fueling some residents’ fears about growing divisions in the predominantly white, blue-collar town of about 60,000.
At the city’s Haitian Community Aid and Support Center on Wednesday, Rose-Thamar Joseph said many of the roughly 15,000 immigrants who have arrived in the past few years were attracted by good jobs and the city’s relative affordability. But a sense of uneasiness is growing among longtime residents as the newcomers’ jobs in factories are raising housing costs, worsening traffic conditions and putting a strain on city services.
“Some of them are talking about living in fear. Some of them are fearing for their lives,” Joseph said.
A “Welcome to Our City” sign hangs in a parking garage in the heart of downtown, where a coffee shop, bakery and boutiques line North Fountain Street, Springfield’s main street. A flag advertising “CultureFest,” the city’s annual celebration of unity through diversity, flutters from a pole nearby.
Melanie Flax WiltThe Republican commissioner in the county where Springfield is located said she is pressing community and political leaders to “stop stoking fear.”
“After the election, when everyone will be talking about Springfield, Ohio, as the place for immigration reform, we will be the ones who are still facing the challenges and looking for solutions,” he said.
Ariel Dominique, executive director of the Haitian American Foundation for Democracy, said at first she laughed at the absurdity of the false claims. But watching the comments repeated by the former president on national television was painful.
“It’s very unfair and unjust and completely contrary to what we’ve contributed to the world and to this nation for so long,” Dominic said.
The lie about Springfield’s Haitian immigrants was spread online by a fellow Trump candidate. J.D. VanceOn the eve of Tuesday’s debate between Trump and Vice President Kamala HarrisThis is part of a long-standing American political tradition of portraying immigrants as outsiders.
After repeating the lie, Trump said in the debate, “This is what’s happening in our country. And it’s shameful.” When challenged by moderator David Muir of ABC News on the false claims, Trump stuck to his words and said “people on television” said his dogs were eaten, but offered no evidence.
Springfield officials have tried to reduce misinformation by saying there have been no credible or detailed reports of any pets being kidnapped or eaten. State leaders are trying to help address some of the very real challenges facing the city.
Governor of Ohio Mike DevinThe Republican said Tuesday he would add more law enforcement and health care resources to the aid package already provided to Springfield by the state.
Many Haitians have come to the US to escape poverty and violence. They have embraced the president Joe BidenThe U.S. has implemented new and expanded legal pathways for entry, and cracked down on illegal border crossings, leading to just 92 arrests out of more than 56,000 in July, according to the latest available data.
The Biden administration recently announced that about 300,000 Haitians living in the US can stay in the country until at least February 2026 under a law called Temporary Protected Status, which will allow them to work. It is aimed at protecting people from being deported to troubled countries.
Springfield, about 45 miles from the state capital of Columbus, suffered a steep manufacturing decline late last century, and its population shrunk as a result. But its downtown has been revitalized in recent years as more Haitians moved here and helped meet a growing demand for labor as the economy emerged from the pandemic. Officials say Haitians now make up about 15% of the population.
The city was rocked last year when a minivan collided with a school bus, killing an 11-year-old boy. The driver was a Haitian man who had recently moved to the area and was driving without a valid license. During a city commission meeting on Tuesday, the boy’s parents denounced politicians for using their son’s death to stir up hatred.
Last week, a post was shared on social media platform X that appeared to be a screenshot of a social media post from Springfield. The post claimed, without evidence, that the man’s “neighbor’s daughter’s friend” saw a cat hanging from a tree, to be chopped up and eaten, outside a home where it was claimed Haitians live. It was accompanied by a photo of a black man picking up a goose-like object with his feet.
On Monday, Vance posted on X: “Reports indicate that people’s pets have been kidnapped and eaten by people who should not be in this country.” The next day, he posted again, saying his office had received inquiries from Springfield residents who said “their neighbors’ pets or local wildlife were kidnapped by Haitian immigrants.”
Chris Hazel, a longtime Springfield resident who knows the park and neighborhood where the pets and geese were abducted, called the claims “absurd.”
“It reminds me of when people accused others and outsiders of being cannibals. It’s dehumanizing a community,” he said of the accusations against the city’s Haitian residents.
Sophia PierillasThe daughter of a former Haitian diplomat, who moved to Columbus, Ohio, 15 years ago and is now an advocate for immigrants, agrees, calling it purely political.
“My view is that this is their way of using Haitians as scapegoats to bring some type of chaos to the United States,” he said.
With a growing population of immigrants, Springfield is no exception. So far this decade, immigration has accounted for nearly three-quarters of America’s population growth, with 2.5 million immigrants expected to come to the United States between 2020 and 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Population growth is a key driver of economic growth.
“The Haitian immigrants who have come to Springfield over the past few years have revitalized the economy and labor force,” said Guerline Joseph, executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, which provides legal and social services to immigrants throughout the United States.
Now, he said, Haitians living in Springfield have told him they are considering leaving the city out of fear.
Its story of economic renewal and its attendant growing pains has been thrust into the national spotlight in a presidential election year — and maliciously distorted by false rumors that Haitian immigrants are eating their neighbors’ pets. Donald Trump amplified those falsehoods during Tuesday’s nationally televised debate, further fueling some residents’ fears about growing divisions in the predominantly white, blue-collar town of about 60,000.
At the city’s Haitian Community Aid and Support Center on Wednesday, Rose-Thamar Joseph said many of the roughly 15,000 immigrants who have arrived in the past few years were attracted by good jobs and the city’s relative affordability. But a sense of uneasiness is growing among longtime residents as the newcomers’ jobs in factories are raising housing costs, worsening traffic conditions and putting a strain on city services.
“Some of them are talking about living in fear. Some of them are fearing for their lives,” Joseph said.
A “Welcome to Our City” sign hangs in a parking garage in the heart of downtown, where a coffee shop, bakery and boutiques line North Fountain Street, Springfield’s main street. A flag advertising “CultureFest,” the city’s annual celebration of unity through diversity, flutters from a pole nearby.
Melanie Flax WiltThe Republican commissioner in the county where Springfield is located said she is pressing community and political leaders to “stop stoking fear.”
“After the election, when everyone will be talking about Springfield, Ohio, as the place for immigration reform, we will be the ones who are still facing the challenges and looking for solutions,” he said.
Ariel Dominique, executive director of the Haitian American Foundation for Democracy, said at first she laughed at the absurdity of the false claims. But watching the comments repeated by the former president on national television was painful.
“It’s very unfair and unjust and completely contrary to what we’ve contributed to the world and to this nation for so long,” Dominic said.
The lie about Springfield’s Haitian immigrants was spread online by a fellow Trump candidate. J.D. VanceOn the eve of Tuesday’s debate between Trump and Vice President Kamala HarrisThis is part of a long-standing American political tradition of portraying immigrants as outsiders.
After repeating the lie, Trump said in the debate, “This is what’s happening in our country. And it’s shameful.” When challenged by moderator David Muir of ABC News on the false claims, Trump stuck to his words and said “people on television” said his dogs were eaten, but offered no evidence.
Springfield officials have tried to reduce misinformation by saying there have been no credible or detailed reports of any pets being kidnapped or eaten. State leaders are trying to help address some of the very real challenges facing the city.
Governor of Ohio Mike DevinThe Republican said Tuesday he would add more law enforcement and health care resources to the aid package already provided to Springfield by the state.
Many Haitians have come to the US to escape poverty and violence. They have embraced the president Joe BidenThe U.S. has implemented new and expanded legal pathways for entry, and cracked down on illegal border crossings, leading to just 92 arrests out of more than 56,000 in July, according to the latest available data.
The Biden administration recently announced that about 300,000 Haitians living in the US can stay in the country until at least February 2026 under a law called Temporary Protected Status, which will allow them to work. It is aimed at protecting people from being deported to troubled countries.
Springfield, about 45 miles from the state capital of Columbus, suffered a steep manufacturing decline late last century, and its population shrunk as a result. But its downtown has been revitalized in recent years as more Haitians moved here and helped meet a growing demand for labor as the economy emerged from the pandemic. Officials say Haitians now make up about 15% of the population.
The city was rocked last year when a minivan collided with a school bus, killing an 11-year-old boy. The driver was a Haitian man who had recently moved to the area and was driving without a valid license. During a city commission meeting on Tuesday, the boy’s parents denounced politicians for using their son’s death to stir up hatred.
Last week, a post was shared on social media platform X that appeared to be a screenshot of a social media post from Springfield. The post claimed, without evidence, that the man’s “neighbor’s daughter’s friend” saw a cat hanging from a tree, to be chopped up and eaten, outside a home where it was claimed Haitians live. It was accompanied by a photo of a black man picking up a goose-like object with his feet.
On Monday, Vance posted on X: “Reports indicate that people’s pets have been kidnapped and eaten by people who should not be in this country.” The next day, he posted again, saying his office had received inquiries from Springfield residents who said “their neighbors’ pets or local wildlife were kidnapped by Haitian immigrants.”
Chris Hazel, a longtime Springfield resident who knows the park and neighborhood where the pets and geese were abducted, called the claims “absurd.”
“It reminds me of when people accused others and outsiders of being cannibals. It’s dehumanizing a community,” he said of the accusations against the city’s Haitian residents.
Sophia PierillasThe daughter of a former Haitian diplomat, who moved to Columbus, Ohio, 15 years ago and is now an advocate for immigrants, agrees, calling it purely political.
“My view is that this is their way of using Haitians as scapegoats to bring some type of chaos to the United States,” he said.
With a growing population of immigrants, Springfield is no exception. So far this decade, immigration has accounted for nearly three-quarters of America’s population growth, with 2.5 million immigrants expected to come to the United States between 2020 and 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Population growth is a key driver of economic growth.
“The Haitian immigrants who have come to Springfield over the past few years have revitalized the economy and labor force,” said Guerline Joseph, executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, which provides legal and social services to immigrants throughout the United States.
Now, he said, Haitians living in Springfield have told him they are considering leaving the city out of fear.
