Springfield, Ohio: Mass Immigration Drives Up Rents, Welfare Rolls, Car Crashes

With the arrival of thousands of Haitian migrants to Springfield, Ohio, has come more welfare enrollees, higher housing costs for local residents, and a surge in vehicle accidents.

A combination of the federal government’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’s parole pipeline, and record levels of illegal immigration has added anywhere from 10,000 to 20,000 Haitian migrants to Springfield’s resident population.

According to an extensive report from Reuters, this wave of mass immigration to Springfield has spurred higher housing prices and rents for locals, as well as more vehicle accidents and greater welfare use.

“After a half-century of decline, data show the rapid population rebound has had a notable impact in Springfield,” Reuters reports:

Enrollment in Medicaid and federal food assistance and welfare programs surged. So did rents and vehicle accidents, including a collision last year when a Haitian without a U.S. driver’s license drove into a school bus, killing 11-year-old Aiden Clark and injuring 26 other children. [Emphasis added]

The number of affordable housing vouchers fell as landlords moved to market-based rents that were rising in the face of higher demand, a blow to existing residents relying on them. [Emphasis added]

Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), now former President Donald Trump’s running mate, has long been sounding the alarm over mass immigration’s impact on housing costs for Americans.

In July, Vance raised the issue with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell — noting the problems that Springfield has faced. Powell, in response to Vance, seemingly admitted that mass immigration does tend to have a negative impact on housing costs.

Vance asked Powell:

What do you see is the relationship particularly given that housing is such a big driver of the inflation over the last few years … what role do you see that illegal immigration playing in driving up housing costs, which of course is a main driver of inflation for American citizens?

“I’m sure there are places in the country where new people coming into the country, I’m sure you can find places and they exist, where that will have contributed to an already tight housing market,” Powell said.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.