Ohio governor sending troopers and $2.5 million to Springfield amid surge of Haitian migrants

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has announced he will send troops and millions of dollars to Springfield amid an influx of Haitian migrants.

The Republican said Tuesday he does not oppose the Temporary Protected Status program, which has brought some 15,000 Haitians to the city of about 59,000 since 2020. He said the federal government should do more to help affected communities.

On Wednesday, the Ohio State Highway Patrol will be dispatched to help local police with traffic problems, which authorities say are caused by an increase in Haitians taking to the roads because they are unfamiliar with U.S. traffic laws.

DeWine said he also wants to free up $2.5 million over two years to provide more primary care through the county health department and private health care providers.

On Monday, Ohio’s Republican Attorney General Dave Yost also drew attention to the crisis when he ordered his office to explore legal options — including filing a lawsuit — to stop the federal government from sending “an unlimited number of migrants into Ohio communities.”

The Republican said Tuesday he does not oppose the Temporary Protected Status program, under which some 15,000 Haitians have arrived in the city of about 59,000 since 2020.

DeWine made his comments just hours before the presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former Republican President Donald Trump, during which Trump made unsubstantiated claims that migrants are eating pets in Springfield.

Ohio has already provided Springfield with additional funding to help with driver education and training, pay for more vaccines and health screenings in schools and improve translation services, DeWine explained. But he is taking additional action.

“These dramatic surges impact every citizen in the community,” he said, noting additional surges are occurring in Findlay and Lima, Ohio.

‘Mothers having to wait in the waiting room for hours with a sick child, everyone driving on the street, and it has consequences for children going to school in overcrowded classrooms.’

DeWine’s family runs a charity in Haiti in honor of their late daughter, Becky, who died in a car crash. He said Haitians who have moved to Ohio are generally hardworking people who love their families and are trying to escape violence in their home country for good jobs in Ohio.

The city of Springfield has been a bone of contention in the immigration debate since Haitian migrants began arriving en masse in 2020 to fill job vacancies.

The Haitians, who were already legally resident in the country, were willing to do the manual labor work that the locals were not so enthusiastic about and moved to the city.

According to an immigration FAQ page on the city’s website, the immigrants are legally resident in Clark County and are eligible to apply for Temporary Protected Status. It estimates the total number of immigrants in Clark County to be between 12,000 and 15,000.

However, their arrival has placed a heavy burden on medical care and the education system, and there have been wild claims that they eat people’s pets.

A Springfield resident claimed he has heard reports of Haitians taking ducks from public parks

Another resident said she is being pushed out of her community by the wave of migrants

During the heated presidential debate between Trump and Harris on Tuesday, the former president expressed anger over Haitian migrants “eating pets” in Springfield.

“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people who came in are eating the cats,” the Republican candidate said.

These claims, which the vice president dismissed during the debate as “implausible and extreme,” have roiled American political debate.

While city officials and law enforcement in Springfield say there are no reliable reports to suggest the situation is real, some residents say it is a problem.