Springfield, OH And Gov DeWine

I was intrigued to read this piece:

The GOP governor of Ohio and many pro-migration media outlets insist the federal government’s huge Haitian migration into the city of Springfield is legal.

“They are there legally,” Gov. Mike DeWine wrote in a September 20, op-ed for the New York Times. “I am saddened by how they and others continue to repeat claims that lack evidence and disparage the legal migrants living in Springfield.”

Yesterday I linked to a story that refers to Haitians, Venezuelans, and others as "parole migrants". I've been calling them "quasi-legal". One of the programs by which they're in the country is Termporary Protected Status, which accordinbg to Wikipedia

is given by the United States government to eligible nationals of designated countries, as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security, who are present in the United States. In general, the Secretary of Homeland Security may grant temporary protected status to people already present in the United States who are nationals of a country experiencing ongoing armed conflict, an environmental disaster, or any temporary or extraordinary conditions that would prevent the foreign national from returning safely and assimilating into their duty [sic]. Temporary protected status allows beneficiaries to live and, in some cases, work in the United States for a limited amount of time. As of March 2022, there are more than 400,000 foreign nationals in Temporary Protected Status.

The entry goes on to say,

The 2021 United States Supreme Court case Sanchez v. Mayorkas affirmed that temporary protected status only granted legal status to remain in the country and was not equivalent to lawful admission into the country. Thus, those immigrants that had entered the country unlawfully but had received temporarily protected status are ineligible to apply for permanent resident status simply through virtue of their temporary protected status.

Thus Gov DeWine's remarks are misleading -- the Haitians here under Temporary Protected Status aren't "legal migrants". They're here under a temporary provision that can be revoked any time, for instance, if a new administration declares that Haiti is not a country for which its migrants are eligible. This raises the puzzling question of why Gov DeWine, a Republican, supports the presence of so many Haitians in Springfield and appears to be so sensitive when the issue comes up in media.

Although there's less documentation for Haitians eating pets and protected waterfowl, troubling incidents have definitely come to light:

🚨🪿 Springfield, Ohio:

𝗜 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗛𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 “𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁” 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹𝘀.

“We had a… pic.twitter.com/9hBfRealU6

— Tayler Hansen (@TaylerUSA) September 13, 2024

Haitians causing traffic accidents in Springfield have also been a widely reported problem, most recently here:

Springfield has attracted national media attention in recent weeks over reports that some of the Haitians were stealing and eating pets and waterfowl, but residents say a more pressing issue has been their reckless driving.

. . . One Springfield resident estimated that there are four to five accidents a day caused by the Haitian immigrants, who are somehow able to drive around town without understanding basic traffic laws.

. . . In December, Springfield grandmother Kathy Heaton was struck and killed by a Haitian immigrant driving with an expired license while she was collecting her garbage cans. Prosecutors declined to charge the 38-year-old driver, the Post reported.

. . . [Neighboring Tremont City, OH Police Chief Chad] Duncan told the Blaze that the immigrants are often not licensed to operate vehicles, but Springfield appears to be protecting them from facing any real consequences for their reckless driving.

. . . Duncan told Rosas about a recent traffic stop in Tremont City involving a Haitian national going 44 mph in a 25 mph zone.

“He didn’t even have a license,” he said, adding that it was the second time over a two-week period that he pulled the driver over so he had the individual’s car towed.

Duncan told Rosas that he didn’t think Springfield police would have towed the vehicle in that instance, and speculated why he thought that was the case.

“If you get two misdemeanors, you are subject to be deported,” he explained.

In this post, I covered how Springfield's Republican mayor and others in the city establishment are profiting from the Haitians by renting slum housing to them and employing them in sweatshops. Chief Duncan speculates here that the Springfield police have been told not to arrest the Haitians for traffic offenses, because it could get them deported, which would cut into the incomes of the mayor and his cronies. This would also explain why the Springfield police chief has been so quick to minimize the Haitian problem with the media.

On September 12, I noted that once Trump surfaced the Sprinfgfield Haitian problem at the debate, Gov DeWine suddenly sent the Ohio State Highway Patrol to Springfield to help solve the traffic problem -- but Chief Duncan of the neighboring town noted another part of the story:

Duncan also said that his access to Springfield’s police radio frequency was cut off after the city was thrust into the media spotlight over the Haitian influx.

“We were able to hear them on the radio. They have decided to go silent. We don’t know what’s going on in the city,” Duncan said. “That happened the day they brought the State Troopers in to help them out.”

When asked why he believes Springfield Police shut off communications, Duncan speculated that it was to avoid accountability for their actions.

“When no one can hear what you’re saying, they don’t know what you’re doing so they don’t have to answer for it,” he explained.

So what's up with Gov DeWine? A problem like the huge quantities of immigrants coming in under Temporary Protected Status wouldn't exist unless powerful people wanted it. In the case of Springfield, these powerful people are Republicans, and they have the Republican governor covering their backs.