A group of Springfield pastors and community leaders gathered called on their fellow residents Thursday to love and welcome immigrants and to oppose all forms of violence and racism.
For the past week, the Ohio city has been in the spotlight after former President Donald Trump and right-wing media circulated false rumors about the city's Haitian immigrant population. City leaders continue to denounce the allegations as false, while acknowledging the need for more resources to help with housing, translation, health care and schools.
Pastor Viles Dorsanvil, director of the Haitian Community Help and Support Center, said Springfield is his home and he’s optimistic residents will pull together.
"We hope that if we still stand together, and we believe in each other, one day we will be the beacon of the world as a community in Springfield," he said.
FBI agents are continuing to investigate a bomb threat that was made in Springfield on Thursday. In addition to City Hall, the Ohio License Bureau on Selma Avenue, the Springfield Academy of Excellence and Fulton Elementary School were all listed in the threat.
Those buildings were evacuated And checked with the assistance of explosive-detecting canines.
City offices are expected to reopen with limited hours from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday.
Haitian entrepreneur Jacob Payne said he moved to Springfield in 2021 with his wife and son.
They operate two businesses. He and his wife own Milokan Botanica.
She sells items for religious ceremonies, mainly Haitian. He's also a tax preparer and helps Haitians fill out documents for a green card or citizenship.
Yet Payne fears the accusatory rhetoric will hurt their enterprises.
"A number of Haitian immigrants are reaching out to family members in other states, trying to move out because they’re afraid they might have confrontation for the false accusations that’s been going around. And that’s going to have a direct impact on my business," he said.
Within the past five, years, officials estimate 12,000 to 15,000 thousand people of Haitian descent have settled in Springfield.
