‘If it could happen to Springfield, it could happen to any town in America,’ he said.
Ohio’s attorney general on Tuesday warned that Springfield, the city at the center of a political controversy that has erupted on social media, is in need of resources after an influx of Haitian immigrants.
People in Springfield “need help” because it is “not set up to take 20,000 people to stay here for a long time,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost told Fox News.
“And I understand that there’s also some frustration in the city because they’re good-hearted people, they’ve tried to be kind, they’ve tried to be supportive of folks that are clearly fleeing a terrible situation in Haiti, but they feel like they’re being left to handle it on their own and I don’t blame them,” he said.
He later said that in regards to immigrants arriving in Springfield and Ohio in general, “there has to be a limiting principle here,” adding that he’s “looking for a way to get this in front” of a court to render a decision.
“If it could happen to Springfield, it could happen to any town in America,” the attorney general said. “There has to be some kind of limit to the federal government’s authority to simply continue letting people in and allowing them to run free in the country and congregate in a place like Springfield that’s not prepared to handle it.”
In recent weeks, online claims have emerged about Springfield’s Haitian immigrant population. Some locals have alleged that the immigrants have eaten pets, geese, or ducks., which was echoed by Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) as well as by Yost.
But Springfield’s mayor and other officials in the city have said that they have received no reports of pet eating and that the claims are not true. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, also said the claims aren’t valid.
Vance, in an interview on Sunday with CNN, said that he is standing by the pet-eating claims amid criticism, saying that he is only echoing statements made by his constituents in Springfield.
