Ohio to provide health care, traffic safety for Springfield amid Haitian migrant influx
Ohio will funnel resources to Springfield for health care and road safety as the city contends with an influx of Haitian migrants, Gov. Mike DeWine announced Tuesday.
DeWine's announcement came as the city, just northeast of Dayton, finds itself in the middle of a contentious immigration debate. An estimated 15,000 Haitians have settled in Springfield over the past several years, a dramatic population increase for a community with nearly 59,000 people as of the 2020 census.
The result, local and state officials say: A housing crisis, overtaxed health care system and concerns about driver safety that only increased after a Haitian immigrant caused a school bus crash that killed an 11-year-old on board. DeWine said the state will commit at least $2.5 million to expand primary care access and send state troopers to Clark County to help local police monitor the roads.
DeWine, who founded a school in Haiti with his wife, said Springfield's Haitians came from a country with poor health care and limited access to cars, meaning they aren't experienced drivers. The initiatives announced Tuesday are on top of work already in progress to boost driver education and English language services in the area.
"The Haitians who are here are hardworking people," DeWine said. "They have families, and they care about their families and they care about their children. "They came to Springfield, Ohio, for work, and many, many, many of them are filling positions in Springfield."
Springfield officials: 'No credible reports' of crime by Haitian migrants in Ohio
Haitians who came to the U.S. arrived legally through a Biden administration program that aims to help migrants flee violence in certain countries. Springfield officials have said local businesses recruited Haitians to fill jobs that local residents wouldn't take.
DeWine pins blame on federal government
Springfield entered the national consciousness last week after a New York Times story detailed how immigration is affecting the community. Since then, Republicans including Ohio Sen. JD Vance ? who is also the GOP vice presidential nominee ? began to amplify unsubstantiated claims that Haitians were abducting and eating people's pets and ducks from the park.
In a statement to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck said there weren't any credible reports of "pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community." Heck also dismissed rumors of Haitians squatting, littering or deliberately disrupting traffic.
Vance doubled down on his criticism of Springfield's migrant surge Tuesday, saying diseases such as HIV and tuberculosis are on the rise. Ohio Department of Health director Bruce Vanderhoff said the state isn't seeing a "measurable or discernible increase" in vaccine-preventable illnesses but wants to ensure new residents get vaccinated to prevent outbreaks.
DeWine referred reporters to local officials when asked about misinformation on social media. He said he supports the program that allowed Haitians to come to Springfield but contends the federal government allowed it to happen without a plan in place.
"As these numbers dramatically pick up, there’s some obligation for the federal government to help local communities who had nothing to do with the decision about people coming in, but now find themselves with a massive number of people," DeWine said.
Amber Hunt and Scott Wartman of the Cincinnati Enquirer contributed.
Haley BeMiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Springfield Haitian influx prompts action from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine