SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — In the months leading up to Election Day, political signs and billboards dotted much of the landscape surrounding this town in southwestern Ohio. By that weekend, many were gone.
Residents, tired and frustrated after their hometown became a national flashpoint in the election over immigration, were trying to move past the intense scrutiny and refocus on the future.
“It is what it is. We have to live with it,” Jean Philistin, a Haitian resident of Springfield, said of Donald Trump’s victory. “The American people, they wanted him and they elected him.”
Only a couple of months ago, Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, helped perpetuate false rumors about Haitian residents in Springfield eating pets and local wildlife even after city and county officials denied the claims.
The city became a kind of parable of the strains that accompany a sudden influx of migrants, such as rising rents and longer wait times for medical and social services, making Springfield fodder for pro-Trump partisans who then used racist claims to bring it to a national audience.
After the election, NBC News returned to the town and spoke with more than a dozen residents who offered a mix of hope and fear about the weeks, months and years to come. Mostly, they were hesitant to talk about the election even after its decisive conclusion.
Philistin, who became an American citizen two years ago and voted for the first time, remains unsettled by the election results. He voted for Vice President Kamala Harris and has relatives in New Jersey who voted for Trump.
He said they were attracted to Trump’s economic policies, but his rhetoric on immigration went too far for Philistin, and he said he fears they don’t understand how some of Trump’s policies could impact other Haitians.
On election night, Philistin was glued to the TV, he said. A week later, he wondered how a Trump White House will affect his community.
“I’m nervous, but I’m not upset,” he said.
Support for Trump did not waver in the reliably conservative Clark County despite his false claims about Springfield.
Trump won 64% of the vote in the county, up from 61% in 2020. Fueled by economic concerns, a red wave walloped Democratic lawmakers across Ohio. Longtime U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, who has held his seat since 2007, lost to newcomer and Trump ally Bernie Moreno.
Christian Jordan, who was born in Venezuela and moved to Springfield some 20 years ago, said he voted for Trump despite the president-elect’s sometimes bombastic descriptions of his native country and his adopted home. A self-described “big supporter of the Republican party,” Jordan said Trump’s economic policies outweigh his hyperbole.
“Maybe the representation isn’t perfect, but it’s politics,” he said. “You’re able to kind of look past it.”
Last Saturday, Jordan attended an Ohio State University football game and attendees joked about Springfield residents eating cats, he said. He laughed along with everyone else but lamented Springfield’s newfound reputation as undeserved.
“That’s not how you want to be remembered as a town,” he said. “Springfield is trying very hard to continue to move on.”
A community in limbo
The Haitian community’s presence in Springfield has grown significantly over the past five years, with an estimated 12,000 to 15,000 new residents arriving to escape political turmoil and violence in their home country, according to the city.
Many are here under federal humanitarian programs, while others hold green cards or tourist visas. They have purchased and rented homes, opened businesses and filled labor gaps in industries such as manufacturing.
Residents and officials agree that it would be bad for business if Trump makes good on his promise to carry out the “largest deportation in the history of our country,” starting with Springfield.
On Sunday, the president-elect announced immigration hard-liner Tom Homan, who once backed a “zero tolerance” policy that caused family separations, as his pick for “border czar.”
“It would be a mistake,” Lindsay Aime, a Haitian immigrant who has temporary protected status until 2026, said of the deportation plan. “All the businesses across Springfield, if you lose good, beautiful workers, you will feel it economically.”
Trump made his mass deportation promise in September, and his transition team has said it is considering ending two Biden administration programs that have allowed more than 1 million immigrants to legally enter the U.S.
Migrants who arrived in the U.S. legally under the current programs, including from Haiti, may be immune from deportation if they have already been granted asylum or are on the path toward it, or have another legal status to stay in the United States.
According to city officials, the vast majority of Haitian residents in Springfield have legal status. Vance has suggested that Biden’s immigration policy is bogus and that many Haitians in Springfield are fair game to be deported.
The Trump transition team did not respond to a request for comment.
The morning after the election, a handful of local leaders activated their networks of advocates, organizers and officials. Everyone had the same question about Trump.
“Would he make an example of us?” asked Carl Ruby, senior pastor of Central Christian Church.
Questions in the aftermath
On Sunday, a stream of more than 100 people poured out of the Haitian Community Help and Support Center, which doubles as a church. Some families celebrated baptisms while others chatted in Creole.
Sitting in the back of a large room, Julio Dumano reflected on the last week.
“We were very scared at first because they promised to deport us, but maybe they will change their minds,” he said, repeating a refrain shared by several Haitian residents. “As a good Christian, we will pray and see what happens next.”
Some Haitians have already left the area, he said, frightened off by the rumors and vitriol that accompanied the negative attention in recent months. Because there is no official accounting for how many Haitians moved into the area, the city does not know how many have left.
When asked to comment on the exodus, Mayor Rob Rue nodded in apparent disappointment.
“That didn’t make me feel good,” he said. “It wasn’t the goal.”
The goal in Springfield has always been to boost the population and stimulate the economy after a long period of stagnation, officials have said. The county incentivized companies to create jobs, which attracted a first wave of Haitian immigrants.
Clark County Commissioner Melanie Wilt, who was born and raised in the area, said this is the first time in her life that she has seen so many new businesses, housing subdivisions and young families move to Springfield. The county will keep pursuing that mission under the Trump White House, she said.
“The biggest impact of the administration was already made,” she said, referring to Trump and Vance’s immigration rhetoric. “We remain on standby for whatever comes next.”
During the last Trump administration, several municipalities created sanctuary city policies in an attempt to curb deportations. Some within Springfield’s activist network wondered if they could duplicate similar efforts here.
Rue, who is a Republican but whose office is nonpartisan, immediately dismissed the idea when asked about it, saying he would continue to follow federal policy under the incoming administration.
Advocates for the Haitian community are looking into options for extending the federal government’s temporary protected status for Haitian residents, but it remains unclear whether that would provide any guardrail against the Trump deportation plan.
“We have to proceed with caution and move forward while looking over our shoulder,” said Denise Williams, president of Springfield’s NAACP chapter.
Sitting outside City Hall, Rue said he was frustrated by the negative attention cast on his community and is grateful the election is over. He bristled when asked if he’s concerned Springfield will be a target in the new administration.
“You know, there are contributing, tax-paying immigrants that are here in our community,” he said. “I would hope that the administration does see the benefit.”
