Why is the Haitian population of Springfield, Ohio, booming?

Former President Donald Trump's false and provocative claims about Haitian immigrants abducting and eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, have cast a national spotlight on the small midwestern city and its migrant population.

The unsubstantiated rumors initially spread widely online -- and were magnified by some right-wing politicians and Trump's running mate, Sen. JD Vance -- after a series of social media posts went viral.

A spokesperson for the city of Springfield has told ABC News these claims are false, and there have been "no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals in the immigrant community."

Still, a firestorm brought on by the Republican presidential candidate's comments has eclipsed the complexities of the American immigration system and the geopolitical dynamics that have contributed to the rising number of Haitians seeking refuge in the United States -- including the thousands who have settled in Springfield over the last roughly three years.

More than a decade of temporary protections

While Trump has vowed to conduct "large deportations in Springfield," most of the estimated 12,000 to 15,000 Haitians in the city are legally authorized to live and work in the U.S. And many of them -- and many Haitian migrants who have settled elsewhere in the country -- are protected from expulsion by law.

Hundreds of thousands of Haitian immigrants hold Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, a designation created by Congress in 1990 that allows migrants in the U.S. to stay for a limited amount of time if the executive branch determines conditions in their home country prevent them from returning safely.

Haitian nationals were first granted TPS in 2010 after a catastrophic earthquake decimated the Caribbean nation, claiming more than 100,000 lives and overwhelming its government.

Those protections were renewed multiple times during the Obama era and then extended by six months during Trump's time in the White House before the former president moved to sunset the provision in 2019. However, that decision was met with multiple legal challenges that effectively ran out the clock on his administration.

Shortly after President Joe Biden took office, he moved to reinstate TPS for Haiti, sharply increasing the number of Haitians eligible to apply for the status.

"Haiti is currently experiencing serious security concerns, social unrest, an increase in human rights abuses, crippling poverty and lack of basic resources, which are exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic," Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said in a May 2021 statement explaining the decision.

This past June, Biden expanded protections for Haitians again, ruling that the more than 300,000 migrants from the country who arrived in the U.S. after November 2022 were eligible to apply for TPS while allowing more than 200,000 Haitians whose protections were expiring to apply for an 18-month extension.

Haiti's persisting instability

The Biden administration has also worked to address the challenges facing Haiti and improve the security situation in the country, but it has encountered little success.

The assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021 left a power vacuum in the country that left local authorities weak and unable to check the violent gangs that took control over large swaths of its capital city, Port-au-Prince.

The turmoil prompted Haiti's interim leader at the time, former Prime Minister Ariel Henry, to request help from abroad to restore law and order. U.S. diplomats worked to answer the call by encouraging the creation of a multinational security force, but it took an entire year for the United Nations Security Council to greenlight a Kenyan-led operation.

The mission originally promised to surge 2,500 troops to Haiti, but so far fewer than 400 have been deployed, and its U.N. authorization is set to expire next month.

In recent months, Haiti has seen some improvements -- including the reopening of its main airport -- but many of its citizens say their country is still plagued by widespread gang violence.

The Biden administration has also worked to put Haiti on a path toward holding democratic elections for the first time since Moïse's assassination by facilitating the creation of a transitional presidential council, which intends to hold a vote in early 2026 -- the same time Haiti's current TPS designation is set to expire.

Why Springfield?

Although Trump describes towns like Springfield as being "overrun" by migrants, the vast majority of Haitians in the U.S. reside in Florida and the northeast, not the Midwest, according to the American Community Survey, which is run by the U.S. Census Bureau.

But local authorities in Springfield say the Haitians who flocked to the city in recent months aren't yet reflected in the census data, and that the percentage of migrants now accounts for around 20% of its total population.

According to immigration advocates, many Haitians who relocate to Springfield are drawn by its relatively low cost of living and ample employment opportunities, including manufacturing jobs the city's chamber of commerce has worked to create.

But Springfield's relatively small population size -- just over 58,000 in 2022 -- means the influx of newcomers has been more noticeable, especially when it comes to strain on the city's resources.

Under U.S. law, most Haitian migrants are automatically eligible for public benefits, including Medicaid, nutritional assistance and other federal public benefit programs that rely on local outlets to render services. Some residents of Springfield say the increased number of migrants has led to difficulty accessing these resources.

Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced last week that he would send $2.5 million to Springfield over the next two years to provide more health care options for the city's residents.

On Sunday, he appeared on ABC's "This Week" and defended the Haitian immigrants in Springfield, telling co-anchor Martha Raddatz they're in Ohio legally and praising their work ethic.

"I think it's unfortunate that this came up. Let me tell you what we do know, though. What we know is that the Haitians who are in Springfield are legal. They came to Springfield to work. Ohio is on the move, and Springfield has really made a great resurgence with a lot of companies coming in. These Haitians came in to work for these companies," DeWine said on Sunday.

"What the companies tell us is that they are very good workers. They're very happy to have them there, and frankly, that's helped the economy. Now, are there problems connected? Well, sure. When you go from a population of 58,000 and add 15,000 people onto that, you're going to have some challenges and some problems. And we're addressing those," he added.

On Monday, DeWine said he would also send law enforcement officers to conduct bomb sweeps of Springfield's schools after more than 30 threats have been made in the past week.