Springfield, Ohio, resident details 'dystopian nightmare' as Haitian migrants overrun town: 'Breaks my heart'

A Springfield, Ohio, resident sounded the alarm about the city's Haitian migrant surge, warning her community is like a "dystopian nightmare" as it struggles to provide basic resources for taxpayers. 

Springfield resident Diana Daniels joined "Fox & Friends" to describe what life has been like in recent years since thousands of Haitians have been transported to their city, starving it of resources like housing and health care, while also having an impact on public safety. 

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"It's like living in a dystopian nightmare," Daniels told Lawrence Jones on Thursday. "You hope you wake up and it's 2019 again, and then you realize it's 2024, and it's the same thing over and over again, day after day. It's hard sometimes to get up in the morning and hear residents that I've known for years struggle. This is a paycheck-to-paycheck… kind of town… working class. The citizens that depend on our social services like health care, the Rocking Horse [Community Health Center], going down to the Social Security office for benefits are waiting in line, and they're not getting the services they need."

"It breaks my heart to see people that I taught and their children experiencing this, so I took it upon myself to make sure that I showed up at every City Commission meeting pleading our case," she continued.

The situation took center stage Tuesday night when former President Trump referred to Springfield while railing against the Biden-Harris administration's border and immigration policies. 

"If it took something like this to get the spotlight flashed on us, then so be it. We've needed help for several years, and maybe we're going to finally get it. The sad thing is, it's more of my money being spent on a problem that we did not create."

Thousands of Haitians have arrived in Springfield since the COVID-19 pandemic, and residents have been pointing to an uptick in crime, mayhem and car crashes due to the massive influx of new residents. In a town of 58,000 people, about 20,000 Haitians have arrived, according to city officials. 

Residents have pushed back on the influx, sharing outrage at the ongoing surge during recent city council meetings to demand action on the issue. 

"I see what's going on in the streets. And I see you guys sitting up there and, comfy chairs and suits… I really challenge you guys to get out here and do something," said Anthony Harris, 28. "These Haitians are running into trash cans. They're running into buildings. They're flipping cars in the middle of the street, and I don't know how like, y'all can be comfortable with this." 

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Another resident called out general failures in leadership. "When am I getting my money back?" he asked.

According to Daniels, some city leaders have accused residents of racism amid their pleas for help. 

She has pushed back on those claims, arguing the cultural difference, as opposed to the "color" difference, is really what is at play with the recent strife between both groups. 

"Some of those comments are being made by people… that I've known for many years, and that's probably the hardest thing to deal with because the city has always been a close-knit community," Daniels said. "We have pockets of neighborhoods and what's happening is a disruption of the smaller neighborhoods, and it has never been a race issue… It's not about color, it's about culture."

Meanwhile, Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine announced Tuesday he'll be funneling resources to help ease the influx. 

"As these numbers dramatically pick up, there’s some obligation for the federal government to help local communities who had nothing to do with the decision about people coming in, but now find themselves with a massive number of people," he said. 

DeWine promised a total of $2.5 million over the course of two years for the county health department and other health care centers that have been overwhelmed by the immigrant uptick as well as more resources for law enforcement.

Daniels said she and other residents are investigating and pushing for answers on how this situation unfolded and why the migrants were sent to Springfield.

"How did Springfield get the target put on its back for this many Haitians? … Why did this happen to us? Who was responsible? How did that happen? And then follow the money. It's very difficult with our limited resources to tease that out." 

Fox News' Hannah Grossman and Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.