Jack Windsor, president and editor-in-chief at The Ohio Press Network, said the mainstream media outlets are too “distracted” by reports of Haitian migrants in the town of Springfield, Ohio, that are allegedly stealing residents’ pets for consumption that the overarching issue of nearly an entire U.S. town being “invaded” by Haitians is being ignored.
“Springfield has been invaded by Haitian immigrants, and right now, mainstream outlets are really distracted by this idea that the Haitians may be eating cats or geese. But, it’s about more than eating cats and geese. It’s really about the cultural divide and the fast and explosive migrant growth in Springfield,” Windsor explained on Wednesday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
While focusing on reports of missing pets and geese from city parks, Windsor said the media is “missing that there’s massive immigration without assimilation.”
Windsor said there are approximately 20,000 Haitian migrants in Springfield, which has a population of nearly 60,000. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine in 2019 sent a letter to then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declaring that his state was willing to accept more refugees.
In the 2019 letter, DeWine wrote to Pompeo:
The State of Ohio has a long and successful history of welcoming and assimilating refugees from all comers of the globe[…] Given our ability to successfully welcome and assimilate legitimate refugees, and the administration’s stringent vetting process, I consent to the placement and/or resettlement of refugees within the State of Ohio.
Windsor said the influx of Haitians in Springfield and other refugees across Ohio are the result of the Biden-Harris administration’s open border policies and temporary employment agencies sending refugees to work in such areas.
“DeWine wrote a letter in 2019, saying that Ohio would accept refugees. So Ohio has been a place that people have come to. Now, how the Haitians got to where they are has been a question for hot debate. I will be in Springfield next week, gathering more information,” Windsor explained.
“Lieutenant Governor John Husted said, ‘How did they get here? The best explanation is that temporary employment agencies were connecting Haitians to jobs at local food processing plants, and this created a pipeline into Springfield.’ But we cannot ignore the fact that it is the Biden-Harris border policy that has allowed this massive influx, not only to Springfield, but other parts of the country. So I think it’s a combination of those two things – industry and then an open border,” Windsor added.
Windsor said Springfield, in particular, has been rocked by an increase in traffic incidents as a result of the Haitian migrant invasion, pointing to two incidents that saw a Haitian migrant driver kill an elementary school-aged boy on the first day of school last year and an elderly woman just one day after she celebrated her 70th birthday.
“There was a Haitian that was driving, struck a bus, killed 11 year old Aiden Clark on the first day of school, and injured 20 others. Since that time, he has been locked up, but looking back on where he came from, he crossed the U.S.-Mexico border I believe in August 2022 and was set to have a federal hearing and was essentially released by the Biden-Harris administration. So it appears he was here illegally and I also would be remiss if I didn’t mention that traffic accidents are part of the issue there,” Windsor explained.
“Governor Mike DeWine dispatched the Ohio State Highway Patrol just today in Springfield to handle the out of control traffic problems. I reported yesterday on a woman who had just celebrated, I believe it was her 70th birthday, and the very next morning was hit by a Haitian driver and killed. So accidents are happening, and they’re happening at a very alarming rate,” Windsor added.
Windsor also pointed out how the influx of Haitian migrants in Springfield has “overwhelmed” the city’s health care systems and mass occupying housing, leaving residents homeless.
“There are tremendous costs being borne by that community. It has taken on a third of its population in just the past few years, and the health care systems are overwhelmed…Homeless Haitians are getting government aid and in fact, landlords there to the tune of about 200 properties have been turned out, meaning they’re renting to Haitians because they can charge them more,” Windsor explained.
“The white male homeless population has gone through the roof, according to my conversation with a city official on background yesterday,” Windsor added.
Windsor said he believes the situation in Springfield is an example of the “type of anecdotal situations” that will determine the Republican vote in the November 5 general election—both in the presidential race and the U.S. Senate race between incumbent Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and GOP nominee Bernie Moreno.
Watch the full interview:
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
