SPRINGFIELD—Infrastructure strains, police forces stretched to the limit, out-of-control driving habits—that tragically claimed the life of an 11-year-old boy last year, and injured dozens of his classmates—these are the costs and realities of immigration in America today, as an Ohio town has found out. 
The Story
Springfield, Ohio became the latest flashpoint in the country’s immigration crisis as nearly 20,000 Haitian immigrants flooded the west-central Ohio city of nearly 60,000 people.
Ohio.news spoke with Mayor Rob Rue of Springfield about the difficulties facing the city.
“Because we’ve seen such a rapid growth of immigrants, our citizens are seeing a population they previously didn’t,” Rue said. “They’re just a larger population in our community.”
The number of people living in Springfield has increased by a third in the recent flood of migrants, mostly from Haiti. “That’s not necessarily a concern, until there are concerns about driving, having enough safety forces to care for the entire community,” Rue said.
The city employs about 250 public safety personnel. They can’t keep up with the demands on city services. “Did we see new folks walking our streets? Sure. Did we know these numbers? No,” Rue told Ohio.news
A major challenge is that immigrants, legal and illegal, as well as those with refugee status, bring no resources with them. Ohio.news reported estimated net fiscal costs of both legal and illegal immigration tallying $12.5 trillion.
That reality has pushed Springfield to the brink, and city officials in Rue’s position have their hands tied. City governments have no recourse when immigration policy at the state and federal level brings the issue to their doorsteps.
“It’s keeping cities like ours from continuing to be successful.”
“If they’re allowed to come in based on the federal government, fine,” Rue said, “but then you really don’t know where these people end up, and they come without resources. It’s keeping cities like ours from continuing to be successful,” Rue said.
A Warning to Cities Across the Country
While larger cities may be able to temporarily externalize the costs of dealing with immigration and floods of new people, cultures, and customs, Springfield may serve as a warning to municipalities large and small.
“The scariest thing for anyone is the driving customs,” Rue said, saying the state needed to address the Haitian-Creole language barrier in driving instruction. “That’s the most important thing, is to get our roads safer.”
Tragically, the flood of immigrants to Springfield came at the cost of the life of a child. Last year an illegal immigrant from Haiti, Hermanio Joseph, hit a school bus with his Honda Odyssey minivan, injuring dozens of schoolchildren and killing 11-year-old Aiden Clark.
Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck wrote a letter last week calling on Senators Sherrod Brown and Tim Scott to address the crisis, saying Spring field was ‘set to fail.’ Heck’s letter drew the national spotlight on Ohio and the effects of the Biden Administration’s immigration policy.
In a region eviscerated by trade and manufacturing policy that saw U.S. jobs exported overseas, many towns in Springfield’s position are already struggling. Nearby Dayton, for instance, had five “Big Three” automotive plants a few decades ago. Today, there are none.
In spite of recent job and manufacturing growth in Springfield, Rue says, the city needs support.
“We need to make sure each person who calls on us is cared for, that’s the request for the federal government to help us catch up on infrastructure costs,” Rue said.
Springfield is the twelfth largest city in Ohio, and its services are stretched thin. “There are other cities where this is happening, in Lima, Findlay,” Rue said.
Immigration in the Spotlight
Cites are sure to be watching Springfield, and Ohio citizens keeping their eyes on what happens in the wake of the 2024 election.
With immigration’s resulting culture clash, strained city services, threats to public safety, and the changing face of cities it has brought about, has come political turmoil. U.S. border and immigration policy has become the defining issue this cycle.
An Axios/Harris poll showed mass deportations of illegal immigrants enjoy overwhelming favorability with voters. Nearly half of democrats, a third of Gen Z voters, and seven in ten Republicans favored the measures.
What interventions from the Biden Administration or Congress await Springfield, or the U.S. border, remain to be seen.
