“This obviously has not risen to a crisis level but it is probably a burdensome level where we have to make sure that this community receives the support they need so they’re not isolated; they’re not dealing with this issue alone,” Turner said. “We’re looking to be their partner on the federal level, and also with the governor on a state level.”
The press conference took place at Rocking Horse Community Health Center, which has seen a massive increase in the number of immigrant patients it serves in the past five years. Rocking Horse Chief Executive Officer Dr. Yamini Teegala said during the press conference that non-English-speaking patients were in the lower 100s in 2018, increasing to more than 2,000 in 2023. She said Rocking Horse has already surpassed that number this year.
Rocking Horse has seen the biggest impact to prenatal, newborn, pediatric and women’s care, she said. The health center has five Haitian employees who work as interpreters, but Teegala said earlier this year that audio, visual and telephone interpretation services cost more than $300,000, which is unsustainable.
As a federally qualified health center, Teegala said Rocking Horse serves all patients regardless of their circumstances.
Federally qualified health centers must meet certain standards, including serving underserved areas or populations, providing comprehensive services, having governing boards of directors and qualifying for certain funding.
Turner and Springfield community leaders met before the press conference, and Teegala said she was pleased with the community effort during the meeting, with her staff and area leaders coming together.
“What we heard today at the table was more than, ‘We will just find a fix,’ ” Teegala said. “We talked about logistic solutions that could be ongoing, we talked about how they are going to look and help and have our back, and that’s what we were looking for.”
Springfield Mayor Rob Rue, along with City Manager Bryan Heck and deputy director of public safety and operations Jason Via, met with Turner and federal government leaders in Washington, D.C. in April to discuss assistance options. Rue said during the press conference that he was pleased with the collaboration from the feds.
“I just would like to thank Congressman Turner for paying attention … He heard us, he quickly responded and I just want to thank him for being here again, being in Springfield and making sure he’s listening to everybody and their concerns,” Rue said.
Rue said that safety services like police and fire have faced a strain with the increased population, and with that comes the threat of first responders burning out.
Turner said that the program that allowed the large numbers of Haitians — who he noted have legal status — to come to Springfield was created “without congressional input” and he believes was illegal.
The process provides a temporary legal parole status for up to two years, allowing Haitians, Cubans and Nicaraguans to live and work legally in the U.S. During this time, they can seek out Temporary Protected Status, work permits or other legalization processes.
Further intake via that program was paused by the Department of Homeland Security last week after an internal report raised questions of potential fraud.
Following the announcement of the pause, Turner released a statement highlighting the impact he said the program has had on Springfield.
“This illegal DHS program has brought more than 15,000 Haitian migrants to Springfield, Ohio, a city of less than 60,000, in recent years. The influx has placed tremendous strain on city and county resources and services, with DHS ignoring the havoc their policies have caused,” Turner stated. “I will continue to work with Springfield officials to identify additional assistance to mitigate the impact the rapid growth in population has caused on the community at large.”
According to DHS, Democratic and Republican administrations have used parole authority on “a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.”
Turner’s opponent in the November race for his Congressional seat, Amy Cox, could not be reached for comment about the issue Wednesday.
Turner said during the press conference that he and others previously tried to pass amendments to existing legislation that would terminate the program. He said previous lawsuits challenging the legality of the program were dismissed because they lacked standing.
He said now the goal is continuing to look for funding to “backfill” and support Springfield, but there is not yet a specific plan due to there being no existing policy in place to easily do so.
“This community has cannibalized its existing resources to be able to rise to the immediate response,” Turner said. “It’s really not the needs that are here, [it’s] the immediate response. We need to make sure that they are made whole and also get the resources they need to respond to this.”
Rue said that Springfield is a big-hearted community.
“I think the amount of care that the Haitian individuals are receiving should tell them what kind of community we are,” Rue said.
Others say the reality is more mixed. Haitians in Springfield have received significant support from many community organizations and individuals. But Springfield NAACP President Denise Williams said they also have been the target of discrimination and angry rhetoric.
