Woman is forced out of her Springfield home of 45 years after migrants began squatting on her lawn

An Ohio woman is pleading with local government to make changes after revealing she was forced out of her home country, where she lived for 45 years, due to migrant activity.

Last month, the outraged resident spoke to the Springfield City Council. The influx of legal Haitian immigrants has revitalized the local economy, but has also sparked controversy among the public.

“I’m done with what I’m seeing,” the woman said, her voice shaking with emotion. “It’s so unsafe in my neighborhood anymore.”

The resident, who held the sides of the lectern as she spoke, continued, “I’ve had to deal with homeless people trying to camp, and I’ve made concessions to them.”

She said she was “trying to help” these people so they wouldn’t try to “squat” on her property.

“It’s so unsafe,” she complained. “There are men standing in my front yard who don’t speak English and yelling at me, throwing mattresses…[and] ‘throwing trash in my front yard.’

“Look at me,” the unhappy resident said, pointing to herself. “I weigh 95 pounds. I couldn’t defend myself even if I had to.”

Because of her fears, the woman said her “elderly” husband had decided they would leave the home they had lived in for 45 years.

“He said… ‘Guess what? It’s time to pack up and move.’

The woman then turned directly to city officials and said, “I don’t know what you expect from us as citizens.”

“I understand that they are here on temporary protection status and that you are protecting them,” she continued.

“Who will protect us if we protect them?” she asked.

“I want to get out of this town,” she said candidly. But before she walked offstage, she added, “Please give me a reason to stay.”

Springfield, Ohio, has become a bone of contention in the immigration debate after large numbers of Haitian migrants poured into the city 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.

Within a few years, 20,000 immigrants arrived, increasing Springfield’s population to just 58,000 in 2020.

The Haitians had social security numbers and work permits, paid taxes and lived in empty, boarded-up homes as the city shrank.

However, their arrival put pressure on medical facilities and the education system.

By filling the empty homes, later arrivals also contributed to the housing crisis, which was fueled by landlords giving priority to immigrants who would pay more, rather than to low-income locals who received government subsidies.

Tensions rose after Aiden Clark (11) died on August 22 last year in a crash involving a school bus, in which a Haitian immigrant ended up in the wrong lane.

One exasperated resident even claimed that local auto insurance premiums skyrocketed because immigrants couldn’t drive.

At a city commission meeting on July 30, angry locals voiced their feelings about the Haitians, making some wild statements.

One vocal resident, Glenda Bailey, a member of the local Republican committee, claimed that Haitians were “occupying our country” and had low IQs.

“They’ve become the occupiers. What they’ve done is they’ve replaced the population of Springfield,” she claimed, warning that they would soon become the majority and kick everyone out.

Others falsely claimed that Haitian immigrants brought drugs, crime, shoplifting and disease, all of which were denied by city officials.

Springfield police also rejected claims that immigrants were causing problems, saying property crime was only increasing, following the national trend.

There was also no evidence of the presence of Haitian gangs in the city.

“I think it’s sad that some people are using this as an opportunity to spread hate or fear,” said Jason Via, deputy director of public safety and operations. NPR.

“We get messages like, ‘Haitians are killing ducks in many of our parks,’ or ‘Haitians are eating vegetables straight from the grocery store aisle.’

“And we haven’t really seen any of that. It’s really frustrating. As a community, it’s not helpful as we try to move forward.”