Ohio Catholic leaders deplore harmful rhetoric against state’s immigrants

Former President Donald Trump’s comments about immigrants eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, insulted Haitians and those living in Springfield who are facing what has become a difficult situation, a local Catholic leader said.

“The Springfield community, which includes the vast majority of migrants I’ve known, has tried to make this work for everyone,” said Tony Stieritz, executive director of Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio.

Trump’s comments at the September 10 debate were not supported by any evidence, and anyone in a position to know, including Springfield’s city manager, said they were pure fabrication. TV comedians used the comments as talking points, and some of the 67 million viewers of the debate may have thought they had stumbled upon an episode of The Simpsons, the comedy show set in the fictional town of Springfield.

But for those who care for Haitian migrants in this 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 schools in the city were also evacuated, and one school closed for the same reason. Springfield Central Catholic School officials dismissed students on the morning of September 13, citing the need to exercise caution, and two local hospitals — Kettering Health Springfield and Mercy Health Springfield Regional Medical Center — were forced to close due to bomb threats on September 14.

Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio, an organization of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, has helped other agencies reach out to Haitians in Springfield. The city is a Rust Belt industrial town that once had about 80,000 people but has declined in recent decades. An estimated 15,000 Haitians have arrived in recent years, many under protected status, granted because they are fleeing violence in their home countries. Many are legally allowed to work.

Catholic Charities has provided job placement services, English classes and food assistance, helping to ease the influx of people into the small town, but more federal help is needed, Stieritz said.

“The federal government had no plan,” Stieritz told the National Catholic Reporter. The Haitian population has grown in the past five years because of the informal network of Haitian refugees across the United States. Springfield was attractive because it offered job opportunities, as factory work had resumed in the area, and because the area has relatively low rents.

Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr of Cincinnati defended the work of Catholic Charities in a statement released in March of this year after the agency came under attack for its work with immigrants.

“Through our parishes, schools and social service agencies where migrants are located, the Church offers us the opportunity to leave behind political agendas and offer the goodness of basic human interactions inspired by the faith and charity that comes from God. Any of the thousands of volunteers and supporters who help make our humanitarian work possible can testify to the great gift it has brought to their own faith journey and to our communities. Working with migrants and refugees is a wonderful way to live out our Catholic faith, as is serving anyone else in need,” Schnurr wrote.

Stieritz noted the cooperation that Springfield residents, especially those in the Catholic community, have given to Haitian immigrants. Mass is celebrated in Creole at St. Raphael Church, with the help of a Haitian priest who comes from Columbus, about an hour away, every weekend. He also cited the volunteer work of the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

The wave of publicity “has filled me with a lot of sadness,” said Jillian Foster, regional director of Catholic Social Action for the archdiocese. Originally from Ohio, she served for three and a half years as a Maryknoll lay missionary in Haiti, where she worked in a nursing home, a nursery and in child welfare, helping poor children who are sent away from home to become domestic servants for wealthier Haitians, a system ripe for exploitation.

In Haiti, she saw firsthand the pressures of an unstable government and gang violence that keep members of the diaspora in the United States from returning. Kidnappings and murders are all too common, she said, and most Haitians have either been directly victims of the violence or know someone who has.

She worries that Haitians in Springfield will feel fear again. “They want to learn and work,” she said. “But many of them may be reluctant to leave their homes.”

Stieritz said the publicity generated by Trump’s rhetoric has made the situation worse.

“A lot of hatred was generated when the issue was thrown into the political sphere. None of this reflects the values ​​of our faith,” he said.

City Mayor Rob Rue urged political candidates on September 12 to “pay attention to the impact of their words on cities like ours,” adding: “We need help, not hate.”

Similarly, Foster noted that the spotlight on Springfield fails to honor recent Haitian immigrants and longtime Springfield residents who want to live peacefully together.

“I know there are a lot of good people in the Haitian community and in Springfield. I hope people see that. We are the Catholic Church. We want to welcome everyone into our community,” she said.