Ohio Governor Mike DeWine [R] wrote an op-ed (opinion letter) for the New York Times on Sept. 20th defending Springfield, Ohio – more specifically its Haitian immigrants – from the large amount of negative attention it’s been given as a result of unverified or exaggerated claims deriving from isolated incidents. Gov. DeWine, born in Springfield, talked about his personal relationship to the quaint city, and the effect the attention has had on it. Gov. DeWine, additionally talked of his experience with the people of Haiti and the country, as he has a school there named after his late daughter, Becky DeWine.
Gov. DeWine recounted the rich history of Springfield, as a stop on the Underground Railroad, a bustling industrial city with promise for all its immigrants, and as his home. He wrote how the city hit hard times in the 1980s and 90s struggling to keep jobs in their factories and in the city.
“Now, however, Springfield is having a resurgence in manufacturing and job creation. Some of that is thanks to the dramatic influx of Haitian migrants who have arrived in the city over the past three years to fill jobs” Gov. DeWine wrote. “They are there legally. They are there to work.”
DeWine – saddened and angered by the hostility he said was invested over the situation in Springfield – told how schools were shut down over bomb threats, how a hospital had to be closed over similar threats, and how two local colleges went virtual in response to the national negative attention on Springfield. He wrote how he had posted State Troopers to protect schools and bring about a sense of security for its students. Gov. DeWine didn’t shy away from who he held responsible for the hostility projected onto Springfield.
“As a supporter of former President Donald Trump and Senator JD Vance, I am saddened by how they and others continue to repeat claims that lack evidence and disparage the legal migrants living in Springfield. This rhetoric hurts the city and its people, and it hurts those who have spent their lives there.”
The two-term Governor of Ohio noted that while the border is an important issue that has become a crisis, placing blame on the Biden-Harris Administration, Fmr. President Trump’s and Senator JD Vance’s rhetoric “dilute and cloud” what Gov. DeWine and most mainstream Republicans believe to be a “winning argument about the border.”
“I am proud of this community, and America should be, too” Gov. DeWine ended his letter. He urged away from the distractions that have hurt the city of Springfield to implore his fellow Americans to focus on policies instead of personal attacks on people.
Springfield Mayor, Rob Rue, also weighed in on the financial expense that comes with keeping the City of Springfield safe and secure.
“This is costing the city. We’re definitely in the hundreds of thousands of dollars in expense. We haven’t calculated the overtime, the contracts that need to be secured to be able to secure and communicate… take care of our city” Mayor Rue told a CNN writer.
Other Ohioan politicians have also weighed in on Springfield, most notably expected 2026 Gubernatorial Candidates like Attorney General Dave Yost and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted. Lt. Gov. Husted recently came under fire for an X post he made about the situation that was an ill-timed and subpar joke at best – it came a day after a local school was closed due to bomb threats.
Regardless of the political ramifications at play over Springfield, Ohio, there are real people who live, learn, and work there. By projecting negativity spurred by partisan politics on both sides, those people – our fellow citizens – are endangered. It would be agreed upon by both sides that ultimately, what they want is for America to succeed; They just have two different visions of accomplishing that. However, this November, it will be up to Americans to decide which vision is best for this country.
