A packed house welcomed Springfield’s city council members with loud applause as the members took their seats.
During the public comment period of the Jan. 28, city council meeting, most residents thanked the council for supporting the city’s Haitian immigrants in the face of local and national rumors and bomb threats last year. Many are members of Springfield Neighbors United, a new faith based group mobilizing around all immigrants living in the city.
“A lot of people are just really concerned about what’s happening and the safety of our neighbors,” said one of the organizers, the Rev. Marian Stewart. She's referring to the Trump administration’s promise of mass deportation of immigrants and efforts to limit newcomers from entering this country, especially Haitians.
“And they have become not just a national but an international meme for anti-immigrant and racist hatred," she said. "And that’s not OK.”
According to Stewart, the group is advocating for the dignity of immigrants in Springfield and Clark County, supporting faith groups helping these individuals and assisting those who are detained or face deportation.
On January 20, President Donald Trump signed several executive orders–shifting this country’s immigration policies and expanding the Department of Homeland Security’s authority. "I’m fine with legal immigration, I like it, we need people but we have to have legal immigration," the president said.
New policies include a broader use of expedited removal, using local law enforcement to investigate, apprehend, and detain aliens, using technologies to determine the validity of familial relationships between foreign nationals and limiting employment authorization as well as the Temporary Protected Status designation, commonly called TPS.
According to Mia Perez, TPS is how many of Springfield’s Haitians are legally in the U.S. The Springfield resident is a Haitian American and founder of Voices of Immigrants. However, Perez says once occupied homes are now up for rent as some Haitians are leaving the city, afraid of being picked up by ICE.
"I used to think this guy (Trump) would not focus on deportation. That he would have come in and build the country and economics because he is a business man," Perez said. "It’s sad because I’m seeing a community that came in to help build Springfield now being afraid because of how they portray the Haitians, thinking they’ll all illegals when they’re not."
At the same time, Ohio’s Attorney General Dave Yost is leading an 18-state coalition asking the federal government to review countries granted temporary protected status. In a letter to the nominee for secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, the group says the program has for too long been loosely applied. Per Congress, TPS can last up to 18 months.
According to Yost, this allows noncitizens to live indefinitely in the U.S. even after it's safe for them to return to their home countries. Per Congress, TPS is for up to 18 months.
"We are immigrants, we are not criminals," said 26-year- old Quetzal Gomez. She owns a cleaning business. When she was 7, her family left Mexico and immigrated to Springfield. "Due to fear of me getting stopped by ICE, I do carry my papers with me," Gomez said.
"Immigrants have come to Springfield, Ohio, to take care of our relatives and family members when they need us the most," Bradford Bogan told city council members. "They're the O.G. Springfielders."
Bogan works at a Springfield nursing home. He said the Haitian nurses and other immigrant skilled staff are essential for resident care.
“At my nursing facility, we’ve had a staffing problem and immigrants have come in, they are loving, they’re caring, they exemplify the oath of nursing," Bogan said. "They’re filling that void for a population that’s always forgotten.”
Springfield Mayor Rob Rue and other council members thanked the audience for their support and their solidarity around the newcomer population, an estimated 12,000 - 15,000. Meanwhile, he emphasized the city will follow all federal immigration laws put in place by the Trump administration.
"Our policy is in compliance with state and federal laws. And that’s where we stand today," said Rue. "We will address and deal with things just as we did in September, October. We will face things head-on as we did in the past."
Rue is referring to when Springfield gained international attention last fall after Trump and his running mate repeated xenophobic, false claims about the city's Haitians.
Rev. Stewart hopes Springfield’s leaders will continue treating all immigrants with dignity.
"All of our faith traditions tell us to love our neighbors as ourselves, be compassionate, be kind, have empathy," Stewart said.
Meanwhile, Springfield Neighbors United plans to reach out to other communities encouraging residents to join them and publicly unite around noncitizens seeking safety and opportunities in the city.
