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Shoplifting And Vehicle Thefts Soared As Haitian Migrants Poured Into Ohio Town, Police Data Shows

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From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Harold Hutchison

 

Reports of shoplifting and vehicle theft increased considerably in Springfield, Ohio, following the arrival of thousands of Haitian refugees, according to data obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation through a records request.

The town, which had a population of 58,622 in 2020, has taken in between 12,000 and 20,000 Haitian refugees over the past three years, marking a population increase of between 20.4% and 34.1%. From 2021 to 2023, Springfield also saw a 51.5% jump in motor vehicle theft reports and a 112.8% spike in reports of shoplifting, data provided by the Springfield Police Division shows.

Springfield residents previously told the DCNF that the influx of Haitians has resulted in an uptick in car accidents, increased housing prices and strained public services. Bryan Heck, Springfield’s city manager, sent a letter to Democratic Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, Republican Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance and Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott in July requesting federal assistance to deal with the pressure migrants had placed on the housing supply.

Inhabitants of the town also told the DCNF that they had observed Haitians engaging in sex acts and other vices in public. The DCNF was unable to verify claims made by the town’s residents about Haitians engaging in public debauchery.

Springfield’s police department declined to comment on the crime data, which does not include information on the immigration status or demographics of offenders.

Springfield had a higher crime rate than the nation at large even before Haitians began moving there in large numbers. In 2019, for instance, the town had a violent crime rate of 493.8 per 100,000 residents, compared to the United States’ rate of 366.7 per 100,000, according to data compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The number of motor vehicle thefts reported in Springfield increased from 324 in 2021 to 491 in 2023, according to police data. Shoplifting reports, meanwhile, jumped from 295 cases in 2021 to 628 in 2023.

Large numbers of Haitians began arriving in Springfield to meet the demand for labor after the city’s chamber of commerce successfully attracted new businesses to the city, according to The New York Times. While the migrants have attracted the ire of some residents, many are paying taxes to support the community.

Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has set aside $2.5 million to help Springfield deal with the migrant surge and announced Wednesday that he would deploy the Ohio State Highway Patrol to assist with traffic enforcement in the municipality. The issue of poor driving among refugees became a flashpoint in the community after a Haitian national driving a minivan without a license swerved in front of a school bus in August 2023, killing an 11-year-old boy and injuring roughly a dozen other students.

One Springfield resident, a pastor, told the DCNF that the town had accidents every day as a result of the influx of Haitians. A local towing employee confirmed that there had been an uptick in wrecks.

US-VOTE-MIGRATION-RACISM-SPRINGFIELD-THREAT
Volunteer teacher Hope Kaufman leads Haitian students during an English language class at the Haitian Community Help and Support Center in Springfield, Ohio. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP)

Police recorded just two reported cases of animal cruelty in 2021 and none in 2022 or 2023, failing to provide evidence for rumors of Haitians stealing and eating residents’ pets. The number of reported murders and assaults in the town went more or less unchanged between 2021 and 2023.

Immigration authorities have had over 7 million encounters with migrants at the southern border since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, according to Customs and Border Protection data. Beyond small towns like Springfield, the large number of migrants entering the country has caused budgetary strains in major cities like New York and Chicago as they attempt to accommodate the new arrivals, Bloomberg reported.

The Biden-Harris administration awarded Haitians Temporary Protected Status for the first time in 2021 and later extended that designation until 2026, protecting them from deportation and allowing them to work legally. The number of people on government benefits also increased considerably as Haitians moved into Springfield, Reuters reported.

As of April, the Biden-Harris administration had flown over 400,000 migrants into the United States, 154,000 of whom originated in Haiti. The administration halted the flight program after an internal report uncovered rampant fraud but has since allowed it to resume.

“We’re tired — help,” one Springfield resident told the DCNF when asked what message he wanted to send to the country. “Send help. Help us fix this.”

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Daily Caller

Los Angeles Passes ‘Sanctuary City’ Ordinance In Wake Of Trump’s Deportation Plan

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From the Daily Caller News Foundation 

By Jason Hopkins

The Los Angeles City Council approved an ordinance Tuesday designating the city as a “sanctuary city” following President-elect Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan.

This measure prevents the use of local resources for immigration enforcement and prohibits city agencies from sharing information about undocumented residents with federal immigration authorities, according to The Associated Press. The council voted unanimously, aligning Los Angeles with numerous cities across the U.S. that have adopted similar policies.

The ordinance will undergo a second council vote for procedural reasons as Mayor Karen Bass, who has expressed support for the initiative, holds veto power but is unlikely to use it, AP reported. Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez pointed out the city’s firm stance against cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“We’re going to send a very clear message that the city of Los Angeles will not cooperate with ICE in any way,” Soto-Martinez said. “We want people to feel protected and be able to have faith in their government and that women can report domestic violence crimes.”

Soto-Martinez also noted that many immigrants without legal status are integral to the community, working in roles such as housekeepers, nannies, and cooks, AP reported. While the ordinance highlights the city’s values, critics argue that Los Angeles already refrains from cooperating with federal immigration agencies, suggesting the policy may not bring significant operational changes.

Trump announced that former acting ICE Director Tom Homan will take on the role of border czar in his upcoming administration. Homan will oversee border operations, including deportations, security at land and sea entry points, and aviation safety measures.

Trump revealed Monday that he plans to declare a national emergency and deploy military resources to execute his mass deportation agenda. He confirmed reports from Judicial Watch’s Tom Fitton, who claimed the administration is ready to use emergency powers to address what he called the “Biden invasion.”

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“I know three families that have gone to Canada.”: Locals Say Haitians Are Hoofing It Out Of Springfield After Trump Win

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From the Daily Caller News Foundation 

By Jason Hopkins

‘They Are Afraid’

Haitians living in Springfield, Ohio appear to be fleeing the city in droves after President-elect Donald Trump was declared the winner of the election, according to reports from locals.

The national spotlight shined on Springfield, a city of roughly 60,000 residents nestled in central Ohio, for weeks following unverified viral online claims that Haitians migrants had been spotted butchering a pet for consumption. The subsequent uproar about Springfield sparked further media debate about mass migration and its consequences, as Springfield has been dealing with an influx of Haitian migrants in a relatively short amount of time.

“The traffic situation seems to be better now,” longtime resident Barron Seelig said to the Daily Caller News Foundation, referring to widespread accounts from city residents in past months that Haitian drivers are causing mayhem on the roads.

While Seelig did speak about local rumors of impending Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids possibly scaring Haitians away, he also mentioned recent crackdowns by highway patrol officers and added that some migrants are leaving because they don’t enjoy the Ohio winters. Another Springfield local told the DCNF that he heard it was virtually impossible to rent a U-Haul truck because so many Haitians are currently renting them — presumably to leave town.

Those who provide services to immigrant services in the city have also said that Trump’s election victory has prompted Haitians to flee en masse.

“Some folks don’t have credit cards or access to the internet, and they want to buy a bus ticket or a plane ticket, so we help them book a flight,” Margery Koveleski, who helps Haitian migrants manage government bureaucracy, told The Guardian. “People are leaving.”

“People are fully aware of the election result, and that is why they are leaving; they are afraid of a mass deportation” Jason Payen, a co-founder of the Haitian Community Alliance, said to the Guardian.

“Several of my customers have left. One guy with his family went to New Jersey; others have gone to Boston,” Payen continued. “I know three families that have gone to Canada.”

Trump, for his part, has vowed to embark on a border enforcement agenda that will apply to the entire country.

During the campaign, Trump pledged to continue building the U.S.-Mexico border wall, revive the Remain in Mexico program, hire more border patrol agents and conduct the “largest deportation program in American history,” and end birthright citizenship for those born on U.S. soil to illegal migrant parents.

Trump said in October that he would revoke Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian nationals and “bring them back” to the country. The Biden-Harris administration has provided TPS — which temporarily gives deportation protections to its designees — to hundreds of thousands of Haitian nationals currently living in the U.S.

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