Janice R. Andrews
A person in Springfield, Ohio, recently called 911 to say that they saw Haitian immigrants stealing birds from a city park. This claim has caused a lot of debate. The call from August 26 was received by The Federalist and showed that the resident saw four migrants, two men and two women, each holding a goose before getting into a gray Toyota Tacoma truck and driving off. This call came out just a few weeks after rumors went popular that migrants were eating local animals, which put the problem in the national spotlight.
The story quickly went viral online, and on Tuesday night, former President Donald Trump made it even bigger. In a speech, Trump said something controversial: he said that immigrants in Springfield were “eating the dogs.” This story quickly spread through the major media. Local officials have rejected any reports of pets being stolen for food, but there have been claims in the past that migrants have been going after ducks and other birds of prey.
The person who called 911 was on his way to a job introduction when he said that the group of Haitian migrants leaving the park were holding geese. “There were four of them.” “All of them had geese in their hands,” the caller told the operator. The man also gave a part of the license plate number for the truck. The sighting happened in Springfield, a 60,000-person city about 45 minutes from Columbus that has been getting more and more immigrant-like in recent years.
In Springfield, about 20,000 Haitians have moved there in the past four years. This surge has put a strain on the town’s resources, which is why leaders there are asking the federal government for help. In response, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said on Tuesday that troopers from the Ohio State Highway Patrol would be sent to help local police. He also announced that the city’s overworked health system would get an extra $2.5 million.
There have been heated arguments about how to treat local animals, especially geese and ducks, but the truth of these claims varies. While some stories have been shot down as fakes, others have received attention, especially after being shared by well-known people like Elon Musk and Trump’s running mate in 2024, Ohio Senator JD Vance. Some people are worried that these accusations are racially charged and that racism could happen against the black Haitian migrant community.
For months, tensions have been building over the rising number of migrants. At a meeting of the Springfield City Commission in late August, many Springfield residents voiced complaints about everything from noisy behavior to worries about public safety. A local man named Anthony Harris, who is 28 years old, was angry about how the migrants were affecting the town. He said, “These Haitians are running into trash cans and buildings.” It’s crazy that they’re flipping cars in the middle of the street. How can you all be okay with that?
Harris also said things that were not true, like that refugees were cutting off the heads of ducks in parks nearby. Taking ducks by the neck, cutting off their heads, and eating them, he said, “They’re in the park.” Even though there isn’t any hard proof to back up this claim, it fits with a growing belief among some locals.
In July, a picture of a guy going down a suburban street with a goose was shared on the Columbus subreddit. The post didn’t give any more information, but it did spark rumors about how the refugees were interacting with animals in the area.
As the debate goes on, the claims about how migrants behaved in Springfield have become a national topic of conversation. People have different ideas about whether these events are caused by real problems or are just meant to make news. With help from the federal government on the way, city leaders and people hope to work out these problems and find ways to move forward together.
