Trump rips Springfield immigration in speech; Mayor Rue pushes back
"(Former President) Joe Biden did not just open our borders. He flew illegal aliens over them to overwhelm our schools, hospitals and communities throughout the country," Trump said. "Entire towns like Aurora, Colorado and Springfield, Ohio buckled under the weight of the migrant occupation and corruption like no one's ever seen before. Beautiful towns destroyed. Now, just as I promised in my inaugural address, we are achieving the great liberation of America."
Though many of Trump's pledges and promises will impact Ohio, the Springfield reference was the only direct mention of Ohio in his 90-plus minute speech Tuesday.
As this news outlet previously reported, Springfield last fall had a Haitian population of 12,000 to 15,000 residents, most of whom are in the U.S. legally and chose to move to Springfield, seeking jobs and community. Ohio's Republican Gov. Mike DeWine and local Republican city and county leaders have said Haitian immigrants have been a boon to local businesses.
But the sudden influx of immigrants did create challenges for the Springfield community, including a strain on social services such as schools and hospitals, which was complicated by language barriers.
Wednesday afternoon, Rue issued a statement in response to Trump's comments. Rue said he's happy that people who have entered the United States and caused harm to American citizens are being held accountable. But he said the majority of immigrants in Springfield are living peacefully.
"The greatest hardship we have faced in the past six months is the mischaracterization of our city. We need to be recognized as a community that, despite its challenges, is continuing to move forward and is far from being destroyed," Rue said. "If the previous administration had taken a closer look at the impact of the influx on communities like ours, we might not be in this situation. However, the same mistake can be made by overcorrecting."
Rue said Springfield is seeing economic growth and new housing developments as community leaders collaborate and make decisions to move the city forward.
"As I have stated before, I hope this administration takes a comprehensive look at immigration policies and implements changes that genuinely enrich the United States," Rue said.
Springfield's Haitian immigration issue became a major feature of last year's presidential campaign, when Trump and his running mate JD Vance repeated false rumors that Haitian immigrants in Springfield were eating people's pets.
The Trump administration recently announced it would end Temporary Protected Status for Haitians in August. That is the American program — allowing people to flee chaos-ridden nations — under which many Haitian migrants live legally in Springfield. Trump's move could remove the legal status for many of them and force them to lose work permits, which could impact the regional economy.
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