SPRINGFIELD — Faith leaders gathered at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Springfield Thursday denouncing “misinformation” about Springfield’s influx of Haitian migrants and to call for the community to come together. Leaders from Central Christian Church, Christ Episcopal, the NAACP, and others denounced claims that have gone viral online, and which were brought up in Tuesday night’s Presidential debate, that migrants had killed pets and wildlife.
However, 911 audio and police reports have confirmed migrants taking Canadian geese from a local bike trail along Buck Creek — a ten minute walk from the Covenant press conference.
The Story
Police records show a man on his way to work August 26 called 911 to report a group of four Haitian migrants driving a black Toyota Tacoma, each taking a Canada goose from the waters of Buck Creek near the intersection of Water and Warder Streets just north of downtown.
EXCLUSIVE: Police Audio, Report Confirm Haitian Goose-Hunting In Ohio: ‘They All Had Geese In Their Hands’ pic.twitter.com/hCVtCYaAl7
— The Federalist (@FDRLST) September 11, 2024
Buck Creek is the downtown Springfield area’s northern boundary, and its home in the Miami Valley is the setting of idyllic parks and hundreds of miles of bike trails along the Great Miami watershed. Geese and wildlife dot its banks.
Media and city officials worked overtime to deny or denounce the claims, but the 911 audio and a Clark County Sherriff’s Office police report confirms sightings of migrants killing wildlife.
A Clark County Sheriff’s Office police report indicates deputies responded to the call, weeks before the story went viral and even made Tuesday night’s Presidential debate. State Attorney General Dave Yost supported the claims.
“THERE HAVE BEEN NO CREDIBLE REPORTS”
— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) September 11, 2024
UHHHHHHHHHH pic.twitter.com/9tGUWUbflv
Reports of cats being killed have been circulating among residents and in community Facebook groups, and while the claims have yet to be substantiated with official documents, eyewitnesses have attested to the killings.
The Attorney General of Ohio has come out and backed up claims that people’s pets are being eaten in Springfield, Ohio.
— Insurrection Barbie (@DefiyantlyFree) September 12, 2024
This is only the beginning. pic.twitter.com/CWeFiR3kaF
Canadian geese are federally protected, and differing offenses carry misdemeanor and felony charges. An Ohio man was arrested in 2011 for killing a Canada goose, which carries a steep fine.
Human toll
The transformation of Springfield has been a sudden change in the community. One Springfield resident, 17-year-old Aidan, told Ohio.news migrants began to appear in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last year, Hermanio Joseph, a Haitian in the country illegally, took the life of 11-year-old Aiden Clark when he crashed his Honda Odyssey into a Clark County school bus. In December of 2023, an elderly woman was killed while taking her garbage cans to the street by a Haitian migrant behind the wheel.
Springfield Mayor Rob Rue told Ohio.news in July that driving habits and cultural norms were one of the biggest challenges facing the community, apart from the massive change in itself — and strains on housing, public health, and city infrastructure.
Faith Community Backs Migrants
Denying the claims and denouncing the nation’s attention on the migrant influx of 20,000 migrants to a town of 58,000, leaders gathered at Covenant Presbyterian Thursday urged Springfield to welcome the migrants. But what do faith leaders have to say to Springfield’s citizens who might feel left behind?
“It’s been on hard times for a long time with jobs leaving, but at the same time, there were also jobs available that were not being filled,” Rev. Dr. Michelle Boomgaard, the Rector of Christ Episcopal, told Ohio.news.
Boomgaard denied buses of migrants arriving, saying the Haitian influx occurred organically, but acknowledged residents’ difficulty with rent prices skyrocketing. The Haitian migrants receive funding from the federal government, and landlords can cash in with higher rents, neighbors say.
[READ: Meet the NGOs collecting hundreds of millions in DHS grants to resettle migrants].
Carl Ruby of Central Christian Church told Ohio.news, “businesses are going to come, they’re going to employ Ohioans. Immigration is good for everyone.” Leaders pointed out that the wave of immigration is the first time the town has grown in decades.
Still, in a town hit with waves of job losses, loss of manufacturing, and a tide of drugs, Springfield’s growth may be cold comfort as the city changes before citizens’ eyes.
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