EXCLUSIVE: Woke Springfield mayor says his own constituents are full of 'hate' as he dismisses concerns: 'This is the swamp'

Several Springfield, Ohio, residents recently told Blaze News' Julio Rosas that their concerns about the impacts of the immigration crisis on their community are not being addressed.

Rosas attended Springfield's commission meeting on September 24, speaking with locals ahead of the scheduled discussion. Many expressed frustrations over the lack of solutions and contended that their concerns seemed to be passed over.

'If we're going to welcome them into our community, why are we going to exploit them that way?'

One resident told Rosas before the meeting, "We're not getting any solutions right now. And it's up to our leaders — all of them, even the county commissions need to come in on this because it affects the whole county."

"We need to sit down together and come up with a list of the problems and come up with solutions," he stated.

In particular, locals have stated that the influx of 20,000 Haitian nationals into the Springfield metropolitan area has led to an increase in traffic accidents, spiked rental costs, and a housing shortage. Several residents told Blaze News that women have reported being followed around retail stores by Haitian men.

"We have not gotten anywhere at these council meetings," the local continued to tell Rosas. "Can we get some support on training these people on how to drive? There needs to be some training. When you come here, you don't stalk women in the stores and scare our women. It's not going to go good for them. And to me, it's not even so much a culture thing, that's more of common sense. You don't just follow women around in a store. Our women are scared to go to the store."

He claimed that the Haitian nationals in the city should also have some grievances they would like to see addressed.

"They're being trafficked for labor and who knows what else," he told Rosas. "And the way they're being taken advantage of. They're paying three times as much for rent as what they should be."

"Why is that?" he questioned. "If we're going to welcome them into our community, why are we going to exploit them that way? Why are we going to let them be exploited that way?"

Richard Jordan, another resident, speculated that some local leaders may be benefiting from the immigration crisis and, therefore, are not eager to address the community's concerns.

"The money's going somewhere. There's a reason these people are being coddled," he said, referring to the Haitians. "And the American citizens are being put as second class. And it's bulls***."

When asked whether he was concerned about potential backlash, he told Rosas, "We've already seen the backlash. People are calling us liars because we're expressing our voice, which everybody should."

Residents confronted their city leaders in the commission meeting, demanding answers and swift solutions.

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One local shouted out during the meeting, "This is the swamp right here. We need to drain it on a local level."

Diana Daniels, a Springfield resident, told city leaders, "Every time a citizen got up here and had a concern … [they receive] pushback. 'That's racist; that's xenophobic.' When, in fact, you weren't listening to what was said underneath."

"The city commission and someone decided that race needed to be the issue," Daniels added.

Jordan addressed city leaders during the meeting, stating, "I'm getting tired of people portraying white people as being racist."

"There's a bunch of scandalous things going on in our town," Jordan said.

Mark Sanders, a resident who previously spoke with Rosas, laid the blame for the city's issues at the commission's feet.

"Everything that's happened in this city in the last two weeks [is] your fault," Sanders said, pointing toward commission members. "In March of this year, I brought to the commission about domestic animal abuse. Gave you where to look. Nobody looked. Nobody."

Springfield was thrust into the national spotlight after allegations Haitians were stealing geese and ducks from parks and residents' dogs and cats.

"I've been harping since September of last year about towing vehicles driven by unlicensed drivers. It's still happening today," he said, referring to claims that Springfield Police Division is not towing vehicles of unlicensed drivers.

After the public comment period concluded, city commissioners responded to some of the questions and concerns raised by residents.

Mayor Rob Rue (R) said, "I just need to say, I had no foreknowledge of immigrants coming into our community and making a decision to allow or disallow. Folks that are here are here. And I have said this multiple times publicly: It is our job to make sure this community's secure and that we wrap our arms around this situation. It is a human thing to do, period. I don't like to see a broad brush of hate swathed against any human group, and I don't like seeing what we're seeing in the last couple weeks."

"As good city leaders, we are subject to the federal administration policy that we are dealing with ... which means we're going to deal with it, and that's the best we can do," he stated. "It is, again, a misunderstanding or absolutely not true that I would be accused not to care about the things that we're hearing from both of these podiums and microphones."

After several unanswered calls to the Springfield Police Division, the department told Blaze News in an emailed statement, "Thanks for your interest. I will see what we can get to you, but your deadline is tight and we do not have capacity right now with all the media requests we are getting. We will get back to you as soon as practical."

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