Springfield flashpoint: How one Ohio town’s experience with immigration has captivated the nation’s attention

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – An Ohio town has been thrust into the national spotlight over the last week after separate but similar claims made by vice presidential nominee and Ohio Sen. JD Vance and former President Donald Trump, making the town an unexpected flashpoint ahead of November’s election.

Springfield, Ohio, located roughly 50 miles east of Columbus, bears many of the trademarks of a typical Midwestern town, with a strong history of manufacturing followed by a period of decline that has become a familiar story for many cities just like it.

But Springfield has become one of the most unique towns in the country in recent years, with a flood of migrants from Haiti resettling in the city and suddenly reversing decades of population decline.

Estimates vary on just how many Haitian migrants have moved to Springfield over the last few years, but most settle somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000, a huge population boom for a town that the 2020 census showed had under 60,000 residents. Many of those migrants have come to the U.S. with temporary protected status, allowing them the ability to live and work in the U.S. for a limited amount of time.

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