Catholic officials in Ohio bemoan harmful rhetoric against state's immigrants

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Posted on 11/01/2024 12:40:28 PM PDT by ConservativeMind

Comments by former President Donald Trump about immigrants eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, insulted Haitians and those living in Springfield dealing with what has become a difficult situation, said a local Catholic official.

"The Springfield community, the vast majority of migrants I've known, have been trying to make the situation work out for everyone," said Tony Stieritz, chief executive officer of Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio.

Trump's remarks, during the Sept. 10 debate, offered no proof, and anyone in a position to know, including Springfield city manager, said they were pure fabrication. Television comics used the remarks as fodder and some of the estimated 67 million viewers of the debate might have thought they had stumbled upon a "Simpsons" episode, the comic cartoon set in a fictional Springfield.

But for those ministering to Haitian migrants in the Ohio city of about 60,000 there was no humor.

Two days after the debate, Springfield City Hall was closed due to bomb threats. At least two city schools were also evacuated and one school closed for the same reason. School officials at Springfield's Catholic Central School dismissed students on the morning of Sept. 13 citing a need for caution and two local hospitals — Kettering Health Springfield and Mercy Health Springfield Regional Medical Center — were forced into lockdown due to bomb threats Sept. 14.

Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio, a part of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, has assisted other agencies in helping Haitians in Springfield. An estimated 15,000 Haitians have arrived in recent years, many of them with protected status, granted because they are fleeing violence in their homeland. Many are legally entitled to work.

Catholic Charities has provided job placement services, English classes and food assistance, helping to aid the influx to the small city but more federal assistance is needed, said Stieritz.

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