COLUMBUS, Ohio — Gov. Mike DeWine announced state support for Springfield, Ohio Tuesday afternoon after hearing concerns about healthcare and public safety strains on the city.
The city of Springfield has recently been at the center of the immigration debate, with high-profile Republican social media accounts like Donald Trump’s campaign and vice presidential candidate JD Vance claiming Haitian immigrants have caused disruptions in the city and committed illegal acts, including harming and eating animals. The city has said there is no evidence to support the claims.
On Monday, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost directed his office to research legal avenues to stop the federal government from sending an unlimited number of migrants to Ohio communities, a release says.
Yost said the problem is not migrants, but "way too many migrants in a short period of time."
According to the City of Springfield’s website, there are 12,000 to 15,000 Haitian immigrants legally working and residing in Clark County. The city says it has seen an increase in immigrants traveling to Springfield to be closer to friends and family of the current residents.
“This is absurd – Springfield has swollen by more than a third due to migrants,” Yost said. “How many people can they be expected to take?"
The city website also says the rapid population increase has strained local government services and put pressure on public safety, health care, housing and education resources.
During a press conference, DeWine announced new state support for Springfield, building on the previous support the state has provided for driver education, language interpretation and educational services.
DeWine said in Springfield, hospitals are seeing a dramatic influx of patients. He added that there is an uptick in car crashes and an increasing need for translation services and housing.
"I want the people of Springfield and Clark County to know that as we move forward, we will continue to do everything we can to help the community deal with this surge of migrants," said DeWine. "The federal government has not demonstrated that they have any kind of plan to deal with the issue. We will not walk away."
Springfield isn’t the only city seeing a surge in migrants. DeWine said there have also been surges in Findlay and Lima. Other cities across the country are seeing an increase in migrants as well.
He said the state will be there to assist other Ohio cities that are impacted.
"The federal government does not have a plan to give any support to the communities impacted by surges, and we have absolutely no indication that a plan is coming in the near future," DeWine said.
He posed a list of actions that the state is taking to assist the city in dealing with its growing needs.
So far, the state has assisted in the following:
- Securing access to more driver education classes, driving simulators
- Establishing healthcare and a new health clinic in Springfield City School District to expand access for students
- Providing help for more vaccinations and health screens
- Providing funds for translation services
New state support announced by the governor on Tuesday includes directing the Ohio State Highway Patrol and Ohio Department of Health to assist in policing and expanding primary care.
DeWine said beginning Wednesday morning, there will be more troopers and patrol cars in Springfield to help police officers deal with traffic concerns.
To help expand primary care in the city, DeWine announced that he is committing a minimum of $2.5 million for the next two years to help deal with the surge of migrants.
“The actions we are taking is in the nature of prevention,” he said. “I don’t want to get anybody in a panic, it’s just stating facts. We need to stay on top of this.”
A press release from Donald Trump’s campaign claims “migrants have reportedly been caught 'decapitating ducks' and hunting geese and other livestock in public parks — and even kidnapping residents’ pets — then eating them.”
VERIFY talked to city officials about the claims.
There is no evidence to support the claims that members of the Haitian immigrant community in Springfield have harmed or eaten wildlife or pets, according to city officials.
DeWine received a question during the press conference about the claims circulating and he deferred to the city leaders. He said that the city officials have talked about different things that have appeared on the internet said they have not seen evidence to support those claims.
"They're the ones in the community," DeWine said.
“In response to recent rumors alleging criminal activity by the immigrant population in our city, we wish to clarify that there have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community,” Karen Graves, a spokesperson with the City of Springfield told VERIFY. “Additionally, there have been no verified instances of immigrants engaging in illegal activities such as squatting or littering in front of residents’ homes. Furthermore, no reports have been made regarding members of the immigrant community deliberately disrupting traffic."
The Springfield Police Division hasn’t received reports of pets being stolen and eaten, the Springfield News-Sun reported.