Springfield, Ohio Haitian Immigrants overwhelming Springfield, Ohio have made the national news. Last week I went there and spent time in the community talking to local residents and officials. Below is a summary of the facts and perspectives that were shared with me during my visit (I confirmed this summary with local leaders before posting): The implementation of federal immigration policy by the Biden administration is the direct cause of the overwhelming influx of Haitian immigrants. I included the word “implementation” because it doesn’t need to be done this way, it’s a choice made by the Biden administration. The Biden administration provided Haitian immigrants documentation for temporary legal status (usually 2 years). The Biden Administration also recently changed federal immigration policy which has exacerbated the problem by allowing each one of those individuals to bring up to 6 additional family members. (The estimated population increase of Haitians in Springfield ranges from 10 to 20 thousand and I am trying to get the data on how many of those are on public assistance). The local officials I spoke with explained these major problems: ⁃Immigration without assimilation. Language barriers drive up costs and make it hard for educators and health care providers to do their jobs. ⁃Highway safety was raised as an issue because of language barriers and a lack of training. There are many Haitian drivers who are not licensed or can’t read or follow basic traffic laws. ⁃Costs: Translation services are expensive and the costs of heath care services are a burden on the taxpayers because they’re either paid for by Medicaid or when uninsured the cost ultimately are born by the community or healthcare providers. ⁃I was told by a healthcare provider that there has been an uptick in tuberculosis and other diseases due to lack of vaccinations. ⁃Employers are hiring many of the Haitian population to work in food processing plants, manufacturing, and in warehouse and distribution facilities. How did they get here? The best explanation is that temporary employment agencies were connecting Haitians to jobs at local food processing plants and this created a pipeline into Springfield. There may be other explanations, but this is the one that I heard most frequently. Many local residents expressed compassion for the Haitian refugees, explaining that they understand that Haiti is a terrible place to live right now and they understood why they would want to come to America. But it was also abundantly clear that local officials and citizens have little recourse and need help. The federal government’s implementation of immigration laws that have led to this overwhelming influx which the community just can’t handle and that has generated a lot of anger and resentment. State and local officials can only enforce laws that are broken, and they can’t make refugees leave or relocate. Even when you find someone who is in U.S. illegally, this is what most often will happen: Law enforcement officials across Ohio consistently say that when they find illegal immigrants in their community, that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will rarely follow through with arrest, detention and deportation. In fact, most say that unless a felony is committed, ICE will not respond. A refugee murder suspect in Lima was hard to track down because DNA samples are not being taken at the border as required. A border agent told the local sheriff’s office in Allen County “we gave up on doing that 8 months ago.” What is happening in Springfield and across America is a direct result of the Biden-Harris immigration policy. I hope that in the upcoming debate the media will ask Kamala Harris what people in communities like Springfield across this country are supposed to do about the mess she and the Biden Administration created?

It’s not the yank that bothers me so much as the look on Walz’s face when he does it. There is a scary rage there. xitter.cf/BlazingPatriots/status…

Since a lot of people have asked, here goes a super unscientific poll … Who will you vote for?