6 Ohio congressmen ask for emergency funding after Springfield bomb threats

Six Ohio congressmen signed letters asking federal officials for emergency funding for Springfield law enforcement, healthcare services and local schools as the city deals with an influx of legal immigrants from Haiti..

U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, who represents Ohio's 10th Congressional District which includes Springfield, said in the letter that the central Ohio city of nearly 60,000 includes an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 Haitian immigrants who moved to Springfield in the last four years.

Turner was joined by Ohio Republican Reps. Mike Carey, Michael Rulli, Brad Wenstrup, Warren Davidson and Robert Latta.

Turner said that recent national attention on Springfield resulted in bomb threats to government buildings inclding city hall and the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

"These threats have caused lockdowns in local schools, and universities have canceled in person classes. Increased security measures to combat, prevent and respond to these threats strain aiready scarce police resources," Turner wrote.

The national attention crested after Ohio Sen. JD Vance posted claims without evidence about Haitian immigrants abducting and eating dogs and cats on social media. Former president Donald Trump repeated the claims during the presidential debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, despite local and state officials saying the claims are false.

Turner blamed the Biden-Harris Administration and policies such as temporary protected status for the strain on city resources.

The Biden administration extended temporary protected status for Haitians in June 2024 out of concern for the violence and insecurity facing several regions in the country as well as damage from flooding and earthquakes.

Erin Glynn is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 6 Ohio congressmen ask for emergency funding after Springfield bomb threats