Ohio governor to answer Haitian migrant surge with additional law enforcement, $2.5M health spending

Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine announced he'll be funneling resources to help ease the influx of some 20,000 Haitian migrants that have arrived in the city of Springfield legally under the Biden-Harris administration in the last several years. 

"As these numbers dramatically pick up, there’s some obligation for the federal government to help local communities who had nothing to do with the decision about people coming in, but now find themselves with a massive number of people," DeWine said Tuesday before the presidential debate between former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. 

The city only had 59,000 residents as of the 2020 census count, and city officials have pointed to the migrant surge as the reason for a housing crisis and unsafe roads after a Haitian immigrant ran into a school bus, killing an 11-year-old child.

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The Haitians arrived under a Biden-Harris administration program that helps certain migrants flee their violent, unstable countries. Despite the problems the program has brought to the community, causing local residents to speak out against it, DeWine supports it.

"I want to be very clear, totally very clear, I’m not against this program," DeWine – whose family runs a charity in Haiti – said. "I’m not against this program."

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost also directed his office this week to investigate legal routes that could put a stop to the federal government "from sending an unlimited number of migrants to Ohio communities."

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"This is absurd – Springfield has swollen by more than a third due to migrants," Yost said in a statement. "How many people can they be expected to take? What are the limits to the federal government’s power? Could the federal government simply funnel into Ohio all the millions of migrants flooding in under the current administration’s watch?

"There’s got to be a limiting principle. We’re going to find a way to get this disaster in front of a federal judge," Yost said.

He added that it's not the migrants themselves that are the issue, but the sheer number of them "in a short period of time."

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DeWine promised a total of $2.5 million over the course of two years for the county health department and other health care centers that have been overwhelmed by the immigrant uptick as well as more resources for law enforcement.

Springfield has become the center of the contentious 2024 presidential battle for the White House, as Trump brought up resident reports that Haitian migrants are abducting residents' pets and stealing geese out of lakes. City officials have denied the reports.

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The immigrants have also drawn the ire of local residents, who have been urging city officials to take action.

"I see what's going on in the streets. And I see you guys sitting up there and, comfy chairs and suits… I really challenge you guys to get out here and do something," said Anthony Harris, 28, during a recent city council meeting. "These Haitians are running into trash cans. They're running into buildings. They're flipping cars in the middle of the street, and I don't know how like, y'all can be comfortable with this."