Residents in Springfield, Ohio, are sounding the alarm about the increase in Haitian nationals overwhelming the city’s resources and causing an uptick in traffic accidents.
One local’s recent post on social media made the rounds on social media over the weekend, stirring up rumors that some of the illegal immigrants were stealing and eating residents’ pets.
‘Grabbing up ducks by their neck and cutting their head off … and eating them.’
The post read, “My neighbor informed me that her daughters [sic] friend had lost her cat.”
“One day she came home from work, as soon as she stepped out of her car, looked towards a neighbors [sic] house, where Haitian live, & saw her cat hanging from a branch, like you’d do a deer for butchering, & they were carving it up to eat,” the local wrote.
The resident claimed that neighbors’ dogs, as well as ducks and geese at a local park, are also being butchered.
The Springfield Police Division told the Springfield News-Sun on Monday that these incidents are “not something that’s on our radar right now.”
However, an arrest 175 miles away in Canton, Ohio, has further fueled the rumors of pets being stolen and eaten. A 27-year-old woman was detained last month for allegedly killing a cat and eating it “in front of multiple people.” No media reports about her arrest suggest that she is a Haitian national. Additionally, voter registration records reveal that she is registered to vote.
Back in Springfield, residents spoke at a recent city commission meeting to share their concerns about the uptick in Haitian nationals.
Anthony Harris, a 28-year-old resident, urged local officials to do something to address the increase in traffic accidents.
“These Haitians are running into trash cans. They’re running into buildings,” Harris stated. “They’re flipping cars in the middle of the street, and I don’t know how y’all can be comfortable with this.”
“I honestly feel like someone’s getting paid from it in the background,” he added.
Harris claimed that some of the Haitian nationals are going to the parks and “grabbing up ducks by their neck and cutting their head off and walking off with them and eating them.”
In a previous city commission meeting, another local resident told city officials that her neighborhood has become “so unsafe” that she and her husband feel forced to move after living in their home for decades.
“I have men that cannot speak English in my front yard screaming at me, throwing mattresses in my front yard, throwing trash in my front yard,” she said. “Look at me, I weigh 95 pounds. I couldn’t defend myself if I had to. My husband is elderly, and last night after living in this home for 45 years, he said … it’s time to pack up and move. He said we can’t do this anymore. He said it’s killing both of us mentally.”
“I don’t understand what you expect of us as citizens,” she continued. “I mean, I understand they’re [Haitians] here under temporary protected status, and you’re protecting them. And I understand that our city services are overwhelmed and understaffed. But who’s protecting us? If we’re protecting them, who’s protecting me? I want out of this town. I am sorry. Please give me a reason to stay.”
Springfield’s Office of the City Manager sent a letter in July to Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) noting that the city is “facing a significant housing crisis” due to the illegal immigration crisis. It said that the town previously had a population of just 60,000 residents, but 15,000 to 20,000 Haitian nationals have relocated to the city over the last four years.
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News, Illegal immigration, Immigration, Ohio, Springfield ohio, Open borders, Politics
