During a two-hour city commission session open to public speakers, multiple people cited problems facing the community, and alleged that the city’s thousands of Haitian residents are to blame for any number of issues — driving up housing and auto insurance costs, criminal activity, drug activity and disease, for hurting the city’s economy and creating squatter communities.
Bruce Clay questioned city officials about the resolution that proclaimed Springfield as a “Welcoming City” and asked who is making money renting to the Haitians and who signed the contract with the city to transport Haitians from a local truck stop into the city.
“They sold the taxpayers out,” he said. “We didn’t vote for this, you guys did. Now we’re seeing the repercussions.”
In response, Assistant Mayor David Estrop said, “I think we need to make it clear once again, the city is not getting any money for people who move into our community. We are not going to set up roadblocks to screen every car or truck that comes into this city.”
His comment led to an outburst from those in attendance and the subsequent police removal of one man in the audience who continued to speak out after being asked to stop.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Springfield city officials confirmed Tuesday that state and federal investigations are continuing locally into the influx of Haitian immigrants into the city, but that they are not at liberty to offer details.
Also this week, Homeland Security investigators visited the Fuyao Glass factory and more than 20 Dayton-area homes in an inquiry into “financial crimes and labor exploitation,” according to the regional Homeland Security office. Law enforcement agencies questioned employees at the Fuyao plant and at those homes, which in multiple cases housed large numbers of people of Asian descent believed to be working at Fuyao.
At Tuesday’s Springfield meeting, several speakers used harsh rhetoric — calling the city a “powder keg,” saying Haitians “invaded our city,” and that “taxpaying citizens have become their economic slaves.”
City Commissioner Bridget Houston offered information regarding the “Welcoming City” resolution of 2014, pointing out that the measure was a local initiative and that Springfield is not included among those identified as part of Welcoming America, a national organization founded in 2009.
“And we’re not a sanctuary city,” she added, indicating that law enforcement in Clark County continues to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as well as the FBI in the reporting of crime and deportation of illegal immigrants who commit crimes.
Some citizens expressed concerns for the safety of children in city schools and accused commissioners of ignoring the real concerns being expressed.
“We’ve raised concerns about public housing, the availability of affordable housing, people getting kicked out of their homes because their landlords are raising their rent to accommodate migrants whose income is subsidized federally. I’ve heard people express concerns about personal safety … but not once have I heard people complain about race,” one man stated.
He pointedly asked Commissioner Houston if she believed racism is the basis of their concerns.
“My honest opinion? I don’t think they are entirely racially motivated,” Houston responded. “A lot of people in Springfield share concerns about a growing population … where I think we may be able to find more common ground is in working toward a solution that the city commission can legally do.”
One speaker at the meeting said he did see racism in previous public comments about Haitian immigrants, pointing specifically to comments about the Haitians’ IQ, calling the notion that black people are intellectually inferior to white people “one of the bedrocks of white supremacy and racism.”
Houston aimed to find a productive path.
“We can’t stop people from coming here,” Houston added. “We can’t impact Temporary Protected Status. We’re not administering benefits through Jobs and Family Services … I share some of your concerns. but I think there is a more productive way to work through this.”
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