ATLANTA, Ga. – Unlike politicians who accepted unfounded rumors about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, Libertarian Chase Oliver visited the city this past weekend to see the issues first-hand, where he received warm welcomes.
Oliver shared the photo of the repast he ate at the Rose Goute Creole Restaurant: “Delicious food and an immigrant community that is happy to work hard and contribute. Good stuff all around.”
Chase Oliver’s trip to Springfield on Saturday and Sunday (Sept. 28-29) included stops at the restaurant and a morning service at Central Christian Church.
Springfield came to national attention via videos on social media that supposedly showed Haitian immigrants eating pets. The videos wound up being from elsewhere, and did not show what the social-media posters claimed.
Didn’t matter to Donald Trump, who brought the unchecked rumor into the presidential debates with his much-lampooned line: “They’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats,” while opponent Kamala Harris laughed at the absurdity.
Chase Oliver saw firsthand the issues facing the city of 58,000, which is straining to provide services – such as education and health care – to the 12,000-15,000 Haitian immigrants with Temporary Protected Status from natural disasters and political upheaval in their country.
They moved to Springfield because of its low cost of living and to accept manufacturing jobs that were going unfilled by locals – jobs the city advertised and jobs that the employers are thrilled to have filled by eager workers with a strong work ethic.
Oliver supports an Ellis Island-style immigration model.
“It should be simple for those who wish to come here to work and build a better life to appear before immigration officials at an accredited port of entry, be given medical and criminal checks to assess their safety, and receive a visa allowing them to immediately find employment. This is a process that should take, at most, days – not months or years.”