Baseless Haitian Immigrant Rumors Threaten to Tear Down Springfield, Ohio

But Springfield’s fortunes seem to be on the rise. New homes are popping up all over town. Businesses are opening, and downtown Springfield is getting livelier after dark.

Jones attributes part of the economic recovery to Haitians and other immigrants.

“I see work now that wasn’t there,” she said. “It makes me feel good because I see something happening in my community again.”

Rise, fall and rise again

Springfield has made headlines recently for odd reasons, but in many ways the city is representative of broader national trends: A once-thriving place that’s still getting back on its feet, a phenomenon that’s been felt across the Midwest since the 1980s.

Renewed prosperity and associated population growth have put strain on local infrastructure, health services and schools.

According to the city, between 12,000 and 15,000 Haitians who fled political turmoil and violence in their home country have landed in Springfield over the past five years, arriving in the U.S. under a federal humanitarian migrant program. Others are in the U.S. on tourist visas and green cards.

“Many of them are professionals, doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers, you name it,” said Sophia Pierrelus, an immigration advocate who left the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince nearly two decades ago. “Culture shock happens to Americans as well as Haitians.”

Jims Denis moved to Springfield five years ago after learning about the low cost of living from his brother, who had already moved to the city from Haiti. Denis and his family obtained tourist visas through his father, who worked at the U.S. Embassy in Haiti, he said.

Denis, who now has a green card that allows him to live and work in the U.S. permanently, owns three homes in Springfield, including two that he rents out for extra income. He also has two jobs, working as an electronics technician and running a photography studio in Springfield. His wife is in nursing school.

“I came here and worked hard for what I have,” he said. “I live below my means and invest. But people think Haitians aren’t smart enough to do what I do.”

He said that when he arrived in Springfield, it was a “dead town” of abandoned buildings and empty lots. As more immigrants began arriving, he saw an opportunity to make Springfield a place where he and his young family could rebuild their lives.

Until a few weeks ago, Denis and his wife spent their free time riding bikes around town or taking their young children to the park. Now his wife is afraid to leave the house and begs him to move.

Some in the community hope people like Denis will move after all.

Bill Monaghan, a Springfield resident who helps manage a Facebook page called “Stop the Influx Into Springfield, Ohio,” said Haitian immigration has been “disastrous for the working class and the working poor.”

Rent has risen as some landlords see an opportunity to charge per person rather than per household, a claim supported by many immigrant rights advocates and local renters.

He added that the number of queues at the local clinic and public transport department has also increased, and the waiting time for emergency services is getting longer.

“It’s just too many people at once,” Monaghan told NBC News. “People are losing their homes to migrants. The roads are becoming dangerous.”

Local authorities admit the sudden arrival of such large numbers of migrants has put a strain on local services as the city struggles to meet increased demand for healthcare and housing.