Bomb threats, fear grip Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio : NPR

Many in Springfield, Ohio have felt uneasy for the past week.

A string of bomb threats shut down city and school buildings. Public events have been canceled. And state troopers have been sent in to guard students going to school.

These developments follow former President Donald Trump repeating debunked claims on national TV about Haitian migrants eating pets. Local city and police officials have said there’s no evidence of this happening.

The false claims were originally circulated online by far-right activists, neo-Nazis and some local Republicans, though local police said they were baseless, NPR reported earlier this month. Eventually they were shared on social media by Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, and then repeated by the former president on the debate stage.

Members of the Haitian community, many of whom have arrived over the past four years, are concerned about their safety, Viles Dorsainvil, who lives there and leads the Haitian Community Help and Support Center, told Morning Edition.

“We are asking ourselves whether to stay here or go somewhere else,” Dorsainvil said.

Dorsainvil has lived in Springfield for four years. The nonprofit he leads, established less than a year ago, helps Haitian newcomers find housing and jobs. It also helps them with language services and getting public assistance, which some are eligible to receive under the Temporary Protected Status they hold.

This status shields them from deportation and grants them legal permission to work based on the unstable conditions in their home country.

How fear has permeated the Haitian community

Trump’s comments during his debate with Vice President Harris sent a shockwave among the estimated 15,000 to 20,000 migrants who now call Springfield home.

Members of the Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio, from left, Lindsay Aime, James Fleurijean, Viles Dorsainvil, and Rose-Thamar Joseph, stand for worship at Central Christian Church, on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024.

Jessie Wardarski/AP/AP

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Jessie Wardarski/AP/AP

Families are afraid to go out or send their kids to school or go to church, Dorsainvil said. He added that some are afraid to call cars through rideshare apps because they don’t know who will pick them up or their intentions.

And some are considering giving up major financial investments they’ve made.

“There are some homeowners who want to sell back their homes just to leave,” Dorsainvil said. “I was asking them to give themselves some time to see if we can navigate this together by the fact [that] we have the solidarity of the city officials and the police department and the local leaders and the church leaders.”

Bomb threats and event cancellations have kept local leaders busy

At least 33 bomb threats were made to various buildings in the city between last Thursday and Monday, Gov. Mike DeWine said at a press conference this week, all of which were false.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) speaks at a press conference at Springfield City Hall alongside Ohio State Highway Patrol Colonel Charles Jones, left, Director of the Department of Public Safety Andy Wilson, second from right, and Springfield City School Superintendent Robert Hill, right, in Springfield, Ohio, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024.

Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos/AP/AP

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Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos/AP/AP

The threats began the morning of Sept. 12, forcing Springfield City Hall and several other buildings to be evacuated and closed, NPR member station WYSO reports.

Earlier this week, Springfield canceled its Downtown CultureFest, an event centered around celebrating the area’s diversity, that was scheduled for late September due to safety concerns. Wittenberg University also canceled all sporting events through this coming weekend and classes went fully remote.

On Tuesday, DeWine dispatched state troopers and bomb sniffing dogs to be stationed at schools and urged concerned parents to send their children to class after attendance dipped.

Governor worries city’s housing, medical needs are being overlooked

DeWine, a Republican, pushed back against Trump’s claims in a Sept. 12 interview with Morning Edition, saying that “there’s a lot of crazy stuff up on the internet.”

DeWine said the focus should be on how the city is struggling to adapt to such rapid population growth after years of decline. The city of about 60,000 people has swelled with the thousands of Haitian arrivals, some of whom were encouraged by family and area employers to move to the area.

The new arrivals have helped fill jobs due to a labor shortage.

But it’s gotten harder for people in the town to get primary health care and find housing due to rising rents, DeWine said.

He added that many longtime residents are concerned about newcomers’ ability to drive safely. Last August, a Haitian migrant driving without a valid license crashed with a school bus, resulting in the death of 11-year-old Aiden Clark.

The driver was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Clark’s parents have explicitly asked Trump, Vance and other politicians to stop invoking their son’s name during political appearances.

Anecdotally, migrant drivers are experiencing a higher rate of crashes, according to an FAQ put out by the city of Springfield. In response, the city has launched driver training courses for the newcomers who are inexperienced drivers.

The head of the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles said migrant drivers go through the same process all Ohio residents do to get licenses, the Statehouse News Bureau of Ohio reported earlier this month.

Last week, before the presidential debate, DeWine announced new public safety and health support for the city, including dispatching Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers to the city and directing $2.5 million to expand healthcare access in the area and other supportive services.

“We just have to work our way through this problem. We would like some help from the federal government,” DeWine said.

Vance defended sharing the false rumors that put Springfield in the national spotlight during an interview with CNN Sunday.

“If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do,” Vance said. On Wednesday, he said that Haitian migrants with TPS were granted that status unlawfully and that it would change under a second Trump administration.

Dorsainvil said he understands why locals and others are concerned about how the city will accommodate both newcomers and longtime residents and hopes to work toward solutions. But after the fear felt the past week, he just wants those spreading the debunked claims to stop.

“Stop dividing the country that all of us love,” Dorsainvil said. “We can do better. We can keep moving forward together with words of unity and encouragement.”