Springfield leaders dodge and weave on questions about Haitians, overcrowding, and wildlife

Leaders in Springfield, Ohio, appear to have dodged the media and issued only carefully crafted statements about problems associated with the recent influx of Haitian immigrants.

Under the Biden-Harris administration, perhaps up to 20,000 Haitians have been relocated to Springfield, a city that normally has about 60,000 residents. In other words, the city's population has swollen by one-third in recent years, and many of the new residents apparently haven't assimilated to local ways regarding animals and housing.

'I don't know how y'all can be comfortable with this.'

Former President Donald Trump even raised the issue about animals at the debate on Tuesday.

"In Springfield, they're eating the dogs — the people that came in," Trump said. "They're eating the cats. They're eating the pets of the people that live there, and this is what's happening in our country, and it's a shame."

In response, his Democrat opponent, Kamala Harris, shook her head and laughed with condescension and incredulity.

ABC News moderator David Muir almost immediately jumped in to discredit Trump's assertion, quoting from a statement from Springfield city manager Bryan Heck that "there had been no credible reports of specific claims of pets being harmed, injured, or abused by individuals within the immigrant community."

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'I [saw] a group of Haitian people — there was about four of them — and all had geese in their hand.'

While much of the national attention regarding Haitian immigrants and possible animal maltreatment has focused on dogs and cats, there are other disturbing allegations relating to animals in the wild. According to reports, Haitians have been taking wildlife, including ducks and geese, from public places such as parks and perhaps slaughtering them.

Anthony Harris, a 28-year-old Springfield resident, claimed during a city commission meeting late last month that "they're in the park grabbing up ducks by their neck and cutting their head off and walking off with them and eating them."

"I don't know how y'all can be comfortable with this," Harris said about all the problems associated with the Haitian immigrants.

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The Federalist also released audio of a phone call made to Springfield police on August 26, reporting that four or so Haitian individuals had taken one goose apiece and absconded with them in a "newer-model" Toyota Tacoma.

"I [saw] a group of Haitian people — there was about four of them — and all had geese in their hand," the man told the dispatcher.

Thus far, local leaders have provided few details about the veracity of these reports about geese and ducks, and most members of the mainstream media have more or less taken these leaders at their word.

As David Muir noted, the office of Springfield city manager Bryan Heck did issue a statement insisting that "there have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured, or abused by individuals within the immigrant community."

Cleveland.com also shared at least parts of Heck's statement. Whether Cleveland.com shared the full statement from Heck's office is unclear, but none of the quotations from the statement in the outlet's report made mention of the allegations regarding undomesticated animals.

Heck has also recently released a video to address "narratives surrounding our city," but once again, the nearly three-minute video made no mention of the accusations regarding violence against or the stealing of wild animals. In fact, it makes no reference to animals at all.

Instead, Heck spent more than a third of the video — nearly a minute and 10 seconds — discussing the city's "diverse and robust industrial base" and "workforce population."

The closest Heck comes to identifying the allegations of wrongdoing within the Haitian immigrant community is when he refers vaguely to "rumors" and "misinformation ... amplified by political rhetoric in the current, highly charged presidential election cycle."

Heck never clarifies what those "rumors" or "misinformation" are.

Heck did note that "while we are experiencing challenges related to the rapid growth of our immigrant population, these challenges are primarily due to the pace of the growth." He also admitted that his city has endured significant "strain" on its "resources" but never directly tied this strain to the rise in the immigrant population.

Megyn Kelly explained to Glenn Beck, host of "The Glenn Beck Program" on BlazeTV, that such statements from Heck hardly mean that the allegations about animals have been "debunked."

"You can accept the pet testimonials or not," Kelly said, "[but] they have not, in fact, been debunked. You have one city manager who says he can't prove any of that. He hasn't found the proof of it. That does not mean it didn't happen."

Allegations regarding pets aside, Blaze News wanted further answers about whether Heck or other Springfield officials had heard about the alleged attacks on wildlife. We also hoped to be furnished with a copy of Heck's full statement.

Blaze News called city offices numerous times and attempted to leave messages with Heck, Mayor Rob Rue, and seven other officials who may be able to address some of our lingering questions.

Of those attempts, seven of the calls were abruptly disconnected after they were diverted to "full" mailboxes. Blaze News managed to leave messages for city clerk Regina Jeffers, minority business coordinator Reggie Troutman, and communications coordinator Valerie Lowe. None of those calls were returned.

In addition to the allegations about animals, other disturbing reports about Haitian immigrants in Springfield relate to housing. In some cases, migrant families are reportedly renting rooms in two- or three-bedroom houses so that property owners can effectively double or triple their rental income by cramming several families into one home.

Blaze News investigative reporter Julio Rosas, who went to Springfield, told Glenn Beck in another recent episode of "The Glenn Beck Program" that in some cases, Springfield landlords are apparently receiving up to $200 a week for each bed in their property, leading to overcrowded residences that may even violate state fire codes regarding building occupancy.

"When you have that many people crammed into ... a two-bedroom, a one-bedroom place but you have 15 people inside, that's a fire hazard," Rosas explained. "But the city has refused to enforce the codes."

"The residents feel that the city commission is just not listening to their problems," Rosas continued, "or they're unwilling to do anything about it."

Blaze News reached out to the Springfield fire chief Jacob King to ask about the city allegedly turning a blind eye to fire code violations. King referred us to the City of Springfield director of strategic communications Karen Graves, one of the officials whose mailbox was "full."

Despite the relative silence from local officials, state-level leaders have expressed concerns about many of the problems in Springfield associated with Haitian immigrants. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R) announced on Monday that his office is exploring possible legal options to limit the number of immigrants brought into Ohio by the federal government.

"In addition to straining available resources, locals have complained of migrants causing car crashes, stealing property — including livestock, squatting in homes and killing wildlife for food," Yost's press release noted.

Lt. Gov. Jon Husted (R) also called out some problems with immigration and claimed in a statement posted on X that he had met with "local officials" who reported issues regarding "language barriers," infectious disease, highway safety, and health care costs. Husted did not list possible animal misuse or overcrowded housing among his list of concerns.

Gov. Mike DeWine (R) obviously considers the problem of "inexperienced Haitian drivers" in Springfield so dangerous that he has authorized state troopers to assist with local traffic control. Ohio State Highway Patrol "troopers will patrol local roads with the highest crash rates and hold accountable any driver who drives erratically and risks the safety of others," DeWine said.

Even with that clear acknowledgment that some Haitian immigrants pose a threat to public safety, DeWine and Major Garrett of CBS News laughed off other accusations regarding Haitians and animals.

Garrett, evincing his own limited curiosity on the subject, stated on Wednesday that his organization had "found absolutely no truth" to the idea that Haitians were attacking pets. He then asked DeWine derisively: "Governor, I never thought I would ask you a question like this. Is anyone with undocumented status in Ohio, is any legal citizen [or] resident in Ohio eating dogs or cats illegally?"

Trump signed a law in 2018 banning the use of dogs and cats for human consumption, so "eating dogs or cats" would in almost all cases be "illegal." The law does carve out an exception for religious or cultural practices, the Indy Star reported.

Nevertheless, DeWine appeared to smirk in reply and then indicated that such allegations are mere internet bluster, nothing more. "The internet can be quite crazy sometimes," DeWine said. "And like the mayor, Mayor Rue of Springfield, says, no, there's no truth in that. They have no evidence of that at all.

"So I think we'll go with what the mayor says."

Later in their discussion, Garrett suggested that Haitian immigrants may soon become victims, that Trump may have incited bigoted attacks on Haitians by mentioning the allegations regarding pets during his debate with Kamala Harris.

"Do you worry at all, Governor, that that immigrant community could be under greater jeopardy because of scapegoating language like the nation heard [at the debate]"? he asked.

DeWine responded by touting the indefatigable work ethic of Haitian immigrants.

"These Haitians came in here to work because there were jobs, and they filled a lot of jobs," DeWine said. "If you talk to the employers, they've done a very, very good job, and they work very, very hard."

DeWine did not discuss the hardworking nature of Springfield natives or other U.S. citizens in his state.

DeWine and Garrett did mention problems associated with diseases and health care. DeWine even compared the massive influx of immigrants to a "natural disaster."

DeWine also mentioned threats to public safety, especially regarding traffic. According to reports, some new residents are driving along city roads without a proper license or a healthy respect for speed limits and other vehicle-related regulations.

A Haitian immigrant even caused the death of an 11-year-old Springfield boy on his way to school last year when the immigrant crashed into a school bus. The immigrant, 36-year-old Hermanio Joseph, was later convicted of involuntary manslaughter and vehicular homicide and sentenced to prison for between nine and 13.5 years.

The boy's father, Nathan Clark, recently stated at a city commission meeting that he wished a "60-year-old white man" had killed his son, Aiden Clark, rather than Joseph, a Haitian immigrant, as Blaze News previously reported.

"I bet you never thought anyone would ever say something so blunt," Clark said. "But if that [60-year-old white] guy killed my 11-year-old son, the incessant group of hate-spewing people would leave us alone."

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