The father of a Springfield boy killed in a crash with a Haitian migrant said he wished the driver had been a white man so the tragedy wouldn’t be used to score political points.
Nathan Clark spoke with his wife, Danielle, at a city council meeting Tuesday in the Ohio city that has been at the forefront of immigration debates, including the presidential debate, where Donald Trump repeated the unsubstantiated claim that migrants there eat people’s pets.
Aiden Clark was killed and more than 20 students were injured last year when a minivan driven by illegal migrant Hermanio Joseph hit his school bus. His death was a turning point in the community’s attitude toward the flow of migrants.
“I wish my son had been murdered by a 60-year-old white man. I bet you never thought someone would say something so crass,” an emotional Clark told the crowd, as first reported by WHO.
“But if that guy killed my 11-year-old son, that group of hate mongers would leave us alone.”
The father of a Springfield boy killed in a crash with a Haitian migrant said he wished the driver had been a white man so the tragedy wouldn’t be used to score political points
Aiden Clark was killed and more than 20 students were injured last year when a minivan driven by illegal migrant Hermanio Joseph hit his school bus
Clark added: ‘My son Aiden Clark was not murdered. He was accidentally murdered by an immigrant from Haiti… The last thing we need is for the worst day of our lives to be forced upon us, forcefully and constantly.
“They make it seem like our great Aiden appreciates your hate, that we should follow their hate. And look what you’ve done to us. We need to come here and beg them to stop.
Clark asked Donald Trump and his vice presidential nominee, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, to apologize for using his son as a “political tool,” calling them “morally bankrupt politicians.”
The father also mentioned Ohio Senate Republican candidate Bernie Moreno and GOP Rep. Chip Roy of Texas.
He said, “They have used my son’s name and his death for political gain. This has to stop now. They can spew all the hate they want about illegal immigrants, the border crisis, and even make false claims about furry pets being torn apart and eaten by members of the community. But they are not allowed, and have never been allowed, to name Aiden Clark of Springfield, Ohio…
Illegal migrant Hermanio Joseph, 36, was sentenced to 9 to 13 years in prison for the boy’s death
Clark asked Donald Trump and his VP pick, Ohio senator JD Vance, to apologize for using his son as a [political tool, calling them ‘morally bankrupt politicians’
‘This needs to stop now, I will listen to them one more time to hear their apologies…
‘What many people in this community and state and nation are doing is the opposite of what you should be doing. Sure we have our problems here in Springfield and in the U.S., but does Aiden Clark have anything to do with that?’
Vance has mentioned Aiden’s death as a reason to oppose immigration.
A spokesperson for Vance told DailyMail.com on Wednesday that VP Kamala Harris should be the one apologizing.
‘Kamala Harris should apologize to the angel mothers who testified before Congress yesterday,’ said spokesman Luke Schroeder.
‘Will she apologize to Tammy Nobles, Alexis Nungaray, or Anne Fundner? They hold her and her open borders policies accountable for the deaths of their children. The Clark family is in Senator Vance’s prayers.’
During last night’s fiery presidential debate between Trump and Harris, the former president ranted about Haitian migrants ‘eating pets’ in Springfield.
‘In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in, they’re eating the cats,’ the Republican candidate said.
The claims, dismissed during the debate by the Vice President as ‘unbelievable and extreme’, have electrified the American political debate.
While city officials and law enforcement officers in Springfield say there have been no credible reports to suggest they are true, some fed-up residents maintain that it’s a problem.
Some 15,000 Haitians have arrived in the city of about 59,000 people since 2020 under a Temporary Protected Status program, with some residents saying they have strained public services.
Gov. Mike DeWine said Tuesday he doesn’t oppose the Temporary Protected Status program and will send law enforcement and millions of dollars in healthcare resources to the city
Springfield has been at the forefront of the immigration debate, including at the presidential debate, where Donald Trump repeated the unconfirmed claim that migrants have been eating people’s pets there
Ohio has already provided additional resources to Springfield to help with education and training for drivers, to pay for more vaccines and health screenings in schools, and to enhance translation services, explained DeWine. But he’s taking additional action.
‘These dramatic surges impact every citizen of the community, every citizen,’ he said, noting additional influxes are occurring in Findlay and Lima, Ohio. ‘Moms who have to wait hours in a waiting room with a sick child, everyone who drives on the streets, and it affects children who go to school in more crowded classrooms.’
On Wednesday, the Ohio State Highway Patrol will be dispatched to help local law enforcement with traffic issues that officials say have cropped up due to an increase in Haitians unfamiliar with U.S. traffic laws using the roads.
DeWine said he is also earmarking $2.5 million over two years to provide more primary healthcare through the county health department and private healthcare institutions.