SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (WSYX) — Ohio Governor Mike DeWine on Tuesday addressed growing concerns over recent reports of an influx of migrants in Clark County.
DeWine just finished his remarks at a press conference Tuesday afternoon. You can watch a replay in the video player below:
DeWine began the press conference by saying that Springfield has a population of about 58,000 and that about 15,000 Haitian migrants have moved to the area in recent years.
“This is obviously a massive increase relative to the population of Springfield,” he said. “This is unprecedented in such a short period of time.”
Health care and education – including driver training – are two of the most pressing issues, DeWine said.
“Many of the Haitians coming to the United States have not driven,” DeWine said. “This is a great concern for people traveling in Springfield and Clark County.”
The governor added that many of the migrants do not speak English, are unaware of local laws and have received little medical care in their lives.
DeWine announced at least $2.5 million on Tuesday to expand primary health care, adding that the federal government must step in and help, especially because, DeWine said, border policies have allowed the influx of migrants in the first place.
(Mayor of Springfield refutes rumor that cat was eaten by immigrant)
“We’re going to see this happen again and again,” he said, adding that Findlay and Lima are two other Ohio cities that have experienced similar waves of migration. “So the government definitely has to be part of the solution. It’s their policies that caused this.”
Minutes after DeWine ended his media event, Springfield Mayor Rob Rue began his own at another location. Rue began by debunking the story that a Haitian migrant ate a Springfield resident’s cat.
“We want to be clear that we have not been able to verify any credible reports or specific allegations that pets belonging to individuals from the immigrant community have been injured or mistreated,” he said. “The news story about a cat being killed or consumed did not originate in Springfield. It actually involved a Canton woman who was arrested last month for animal cruelty.”
The situation was already making national headlines before U.S. Senator and vice presidential candidate JD Vance claimed on X on Tuesday that his office had received inquiries from Springfield residents reporting that their neighbors’ pets had been kidnapped.
“Rumors like these distract from the real problems, such as the problems with our housing, our school resources and our overburdened health care system,” he continued. “In addition, there are no confirmed cases of immigrants engaging in illegal activities such as squatting or dumping garbage in front of residents’ homes.”
ABC 6 reported in July that a Haitian woman named Rose Joseph emigrated from Haiti to Miami in 2020 and landed in Springfield a year later. She said she heard there were job opportunities in Ohio, so she has been building a life in the Midwest for three years.
“In my conversations with people in Springfield, it’s not just about housing,” Vance said in a TND report on Monday. “They’re trying to build 5,000 new housing units, which is a herculean task in a city of about 55,000 people, but it’s also about hospital care and school care. I think this immigration issue has very real human consequences in many ways.”
