“Rumors like this are taking away from the real issues such as issues involving our housing or school resources and our overwhelmed healthcare system,” Rue said.
A social media post originally from a Springfield Facebook group went viral nationally in recent days. It claimed an unnamed person’s neighbor’s daughter’s friend found their cat hanging from a branch at a Haitian neighbor’s home being carved up to be eaten, and also said that Haitians were doing the same at Snyder Park with ducks and geese.
The claims circulated widely, with prominent Republican figures like former President Donald Trump, vice presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. JD Vance, businessman Elon Musk and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz spreading the misinformation, with several using the city as an example for the need for immigration reform.
The vast majority of Haitian immigrants in Springfield and Clark County are in the U.S. legally, having entered the country on a parole status, with many then receiving Temporary Protected Status, a legal status that has long been used for countries in turmoil.
There are an estimated 12-15,000 Haitian immigrants living in Springfield now according to data from the Clark County Combined Health District and other partners, Rue said.
Addressing confusion over the cat-eating rumor, Rue mentioned a case in Canton, Ohio, last month, in which a woman was charged with cruelty to companion animals for allegedly killing and eating a cat there.
Clark County Commission President Melanie Flax Wilt, a lifelong county resident, said that once Springfield is no longer being used as a “talking point for immigration reform,” the community will have to deal with the real challenges and find solutions.
Rue said Springfield needs funding now for more translation and interpretation services.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced at a press conference Tuesday $2.5 million over the next few years to expand access to primary health care in the community and a surge of state troopers to curtail erratic driving.
Flax Wilt said it’s important to take a look at the bigger picture and work toward solutions like the driver’s education programs, stabilizing infrastructure and helping newcomers assimilate. She said stabilizing funding locally entails stabilizing the tax base through sales tax or income tax and assimilating the Haitian population to the community.
Rue and Flax Wilt said neither the city nor county is receiving any financial incentive for Haitians coming to the community. Flax Wilt said that idea seems to stem from a common sentiment in politics that there are conspiracies everywhere and people take rumors at face value.
The county commissioner was frustrated at the hate she has seen community members expressing toward the Haitian community.
“As a leader in the community, I want to remind my fellow citizens that it is not OK to harass our neighbors, it is not OK to harass anyone for how they drive, for how they look, for how they lead,” Flax Wilt said. “We tell our kids — I’m the mother of three school-aged kids — we tell our kids not to bully one another, and I hear adults in our community saying the most hateful things, the very things we caution our children against. That’s not the community we are. We are Clark County, Ohio. We are Springfield, Ohio, and that is not the community we want to be.”
Rue said the city has fact checked multiple complaints about Haitian residents, but when sharing research-backed information contradicting some claims, Rue said some people just call the city liars and continue posting misinformation.
“Could you imagine being talked about like this, and the entire group, the country you’re from, you are being painted with this broad stoke, all of this rhetoric?” Rue said.
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