John Smyth wrote:
> FJB and KH.
>
> 'Send help': Ohio town grapples with chaos amid migrant influx'
>
> 'Car crashes, housing crisis, national attention add to stress'
>
> <https://www.wnd.com/2024/09/send-help-ohio-town-grapples-with-chaos-amid-migrant-influx/>
>
>
> 'SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Residents of a suburban Ohio town currently under
> the national spotlight say they've been dealing with the consequences of
> mass immigration for years, including a housing crunch, a rise in car
> wrecks and other alleged crimes.
>
> The latest wave of national attention began with a viral social media
> post claiming a pet cat in Springfield, Ohio, had been found hanging
> from a branch near a Haitian neighbor's home and was being carved up for
> a meal. The rumors gained further notoriety when President Donald Trump
> — citing claims he said he saw on television — also said pet dogs and
> cats were being eaten during the presidential debate Tuesday.
>
> The Daily Caller News Foundation visited Springfield and interviewed a
> number of residents about the situation. While no locals said they have
> personally witnessed any individuals eating house pets, they were quick
> to say the massive influx of migrants has become a problem for a
> multitude of reasons, with people personally attesting to a housing
> crisis and others saying they have witnessed public sex acts.
>
> "Twenty-five thousand people have invaded our sleepy little community
> here in Springfield," Barron Seelig, a local non-denominational pastor
> who is involved in helping feed and provide assistance to the town's
> homeless community, told the DCNF. Seelig says locating housing for the
> homeless has become incredibly difficult with the rise in the immigrant
> population.
>
>
>
> "We're 55,000 people here and they sent an additional 25,000 people
> here," Seelig continued, referring to the tens of thousands of Haitian
> migrants who have settled in the town in the past several years. "Our
> resources are taxed and people's nerves are on end."
>
> The pastor — who spoke while at a local tow yard — said most of the
> wrecked cars in the lot were there because Haitian nationals "don't know
> how to drive," and claimed that there were accidents every day because
> of it. A towing employee standing nearby, who wished not to be
> identified, confirmed that he had experienced an uptick in wrecks over
> the past year.
>
> While he has been outspoken about the housing crisis being caused by the
> population spike — even taking his case directly to city council
> meetings — Seelig and others were quick to condemn the presence of "out
> of town" voices aligned with racist groups who have used the crisis to
> push their own agenda. Some media outlets have attempted to tie one
> group to concerns about the immigration influx.
>
>
> Local criticism of immigration into Springfield began to grow when
> Hermanio Joseph, a Haitian national driving a minivan without a license,
> swerved in front of a school bus in August 2023, resulting in the death
> of 11-year-old Aiden Clark and injuring about a dozen other students on
> their first day of school. A judge in May sentenced Joseph to more than
> 13 years in prison for the crash.
>
> Long before Springfield was thrust into the national spotlight, local
> leaders were already sounding the alarm on the growing consequences of
> accepting such a large population in a relatively short amount of time.
>
> The city manager of Springfield, Bryan Heck, delivered a letter in July
> to GOP Sens. J.D. Vance of Ohio and Tim Scott of South Carolina that
> asked for federal assistance. As many as 20,000 Haitian nationals have
> settled into the town in the last four years alone, creating a housing
> crisis that will leave Springfield unable to meet its housing needs
> unless help is provided, according to Heck's letter.
>
> Zillow data also indicate that median rental prices in the town have
> spiked over the past year, making it more expensive to live in an area
> that is historically known for its low cost of living.
>
> For Springfield's most destitute residents, the housing crisis has
> already arrived.
>
> "I've been here since about March," said one homeless woman who had just
> arrived at a local soup kitchen with her daughter to grab a free meal.
> "We've been trying to find a place, but we can't find a place at all
> because the Haitians always get all the housing."
>
>
> "People like us — me, my daughter, my husband — we can't find housing
> because all the housing has gone to them," the woman continued. "I had
> never in my life seen a Haitian, didn't even know what a Haitian was,
> until I came here to Springfield and it's ridiculous."
>
>
> Soup kitchen in Springfield, Ohio. DCNF image.
>
> Beyond bad driving, other common complaints by locals about their new
> Haitian neighbors were constant late-night parties and public
> debauchery. One man who spoke to the DCNF, James, claimed he has
> observed from his house migrants picking up women and having sex with
> them out in public, sometimes even in front of children.
>
> The Springfield police did not respond to a request for comment from the
> DCNF regarding claims of increased car wrecks, public sex acts or pet
> animal consumption. However, local police stated Monday that they have
> received no reports of pet animals being stolen or eaten.
>
>
> Haitian nationals enjoy benefits not afforded to many other foreign
> nationals currently living in the United States. The Biden-Harris
> administration in June announced an extension of Temporary Protected
> Status (TPS) for roughly 300,00 Haitians, giving them deportation
> protections in the U.S. as their home nation continues to experience
> upheaval.
>
> The White House already designated Haitians with TPS in 2021 and renewed
> it in late 2022. The latest order gave Haitian nationals deportation
> protection until early 2026, according to the announcement.
>
> Haitians are included in a mass-parole initiative known as the CHNV
> program, which allows hundreds of thousands of migrants from Cuba,
> Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela legal authorization to fly into the
> country. The program was temporarily paused due to the discovery of
> widespread fraud by applicants, but has since relaunched.
>
> There have been other reported issues beyond housing needs. During a
> Clark County Commissioners meeting in July, one witness testified that
> because Haitians culturally only visit the hospital when they are about
> to die and not to have babies, emergency response births have increased
> roughly 10% because Haitians are waiting until the last minute to go to
> the hospital.
>
> The crisis in Springfield has caught the attention of state leaders,
> with the Ohio attorney general announcing on Monday that his office is
> investigating how to stop the Biden-Harris administration from
> resettling massive numbers of migrants into the state. GOP Gov. Mike
> DeWine announced Wednesday that he was sending $2.5 million dollars to
> help Springfield deal with the crisis and address the dangerous driving
> situation.
>
> "To address the increase in dangerous driving in Springfield by
> inexperienced Haitian drivers and all others who disregard traffic laws,
> Governor DeWine directed the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) to support
> the Springfield Police Department with traffic enforcement," the
> governor's announcement stated.
>
> As for the local government of Springfield, it's not immediately clear
> what their reaction is to the sudden national attention. A spokesperson
> for the city government did not respond to a request for comment via
> email from the DCNF.
>
> Additionally, a staffer for the city directed the DCNF to leave contact
> information on a piece of paper and leave when approached at City Hall.
>
> Others have noted that Springfield was troubled before the migrants
> began to arrive.
>
> The town's poverty rate was twice the national average in 2022 as
> Haitians began arriving in large numbers, according to NPR. Seelig
> described Springfield as "one of the highest in the nation" for drug
> overdose deaths in recent years. The pastor reiterated that the town is
> unable to handle the crisis on its own.
>
> "We're tired — help," Seelig said when asked what message he wanted to
> send to the country. "Send help. Help us fix this.
>
do you ever complain about anything