Forget Fido, Ohio’s Migrant Problem is Deeper than Eaten Pets
It is clear that not all is well in Springfield and that the focus on Trump’s comments obscures a greater catastrophe occurring in America’s heartland.
During Tuesday’s presidential debate, Donald Trump made a seemingly surreal set of statements surrounding Haitian migrants in Ohio and their predilection for eating pets.
"In Springfield, they're eating the dogs, the people that came in,” Trump claimed. “They're eating the cats. "They're eating the pets of the people that live there, and this is what's happening in our country, and it's a shame."
Mainstream media outlets were quick to say this was just a racist conspiracy theory.
Indeed, during the debate itself, ABC moderator David Muir quickly interjected to “fact-check” Trump claiming “ABC News reached out to the city manager there. He told us ‘there have been no credible reports of specific claims of pets being harmed, injured, or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.’"
Which, tangentially, is a damning indictment of media malfeasance on its own. No one bothered to go any further than asking a government bureaucrat if this was happening? A bureaucrat who might have motivation to tamp down on such rumors?
The media is supposed to hold truth to power, not just blindly take their word for it.
For the record, I don’t personally believe that there are hordes of Haitian migrants roaming the streets of Springfield gobbling up pets and local geese.
Has it ever happened? I don’t doubt it. But I don’t buy this narrative of them doing it en masse.
Frankly, the entire conversation about pet eating distracts from the much larger and entirely factual issue that massive amounts of migrants are pouring into small American towns that don’t have the resources to handle them.
Springfield’s small population of around 60,000 has been bolstered by a massive wave of Haitian migrants from around 2020 to 2024. Estimates of just how many Haitians made their way to Springfield vary, but most put it between 15,000-20,000 new Haitian immigrants in about a five year time span, boosting the population by nearly a third from just one community alone.
As a consequence of this mass influx, the city has been forced to deal with a cavalcade of consequences.
City Manager Bryan Heck noted in a letter to Senators Vance, Brown, and Scott that due to the massive and sudden influx of Haitian migrants “the City of Springfield, Ohio is facing a significant housing crisis” and that “without further support at the Federal level, communities like Springfield are set up to fail in being able to meet the housing needs of its residents.”
Additionally, while many have argued that the migrants offer a shot in the arm to the dying Rust Belt economy, the reality is that Springfield natives are not sharing in that newfound financial glory.
Springfield-based McGregor Metal came under fire when a PBS News clip resurfaced illustrating the business was almost certainly hiring Haitian migrants over native Springfielders. “I wish I had 30 more,” said CEO Jamie McGregor. “Our Haitians come to work every day. They don’t have a drug problem. They’ll stay at their machine. That’s a stark difference from what we’re used to.”
Google reviews for the business from before it even entered the national consciousness indicated that work conditions were horrible and that workers were expected to work seven days a week for little to no pay.
While obviously an anonymous review on Google is not guaranteed to be true, the idea that a business would seek to cut costs by firing American workers who expect better treatment and higher pay and replacing them with non-English speaking migrants for dirt cheap is not unheard of.
And that non-English speaking part bears repeating.
Springfield’s education system is overwhelmed by a wave of new migrant students who require extra resources to learn English, resources that the city just doesn’t have.
Local outlet WHIO reported earlier this year that the number of ESL students skyrocketed from just 250 in 2017 to 1,600 in 2024. Those students require translators and specialized lesson plans, all of which don’t come cheap.
And then there’s the crime. Violence, property damage, and yes, occasionally eating local wildlife.
It is clear that not all is well in Springfield and that the focus on Trump’s comments obscures a greater catastrophe occurring in America’s heartland. Whether or not Haitians are eating cats is somewhat irrelevant when the town is suffering from demonstrable other problems.
Forget the pets, mass migration is devouring Springfield itself!