Many cities have been reshaped by immigrants in the last few years without attracting much notice. Not Springfield, Ohio.Video above: Residents in Springfield, Ohio, react to national spotlightIts story of economic renewal and related growing pains has been thrust into the national conversation in a presidential election year — and maliciously distorted by false rumors that Haitian immigrants are eating their neighbors’ pets. Donald Trump amplified those lies during Tuesday’s nationally televised debate, exacerbating some residents’ fears about growing divisiveness in the predominantly white, blue-collar city of about 60,000. At the city’s Haitian Community Help and Support Center on Wednesday, Rose-Thamar Joseph said many of the immigrants that arrived in the past few years were drawn by good jobs and the city’s relative affordability. But a rising sense of unease has crept in as longtime residents increasingly bristle at newcomers taking jobs at factories, driving up housing costs and straining …
An Ohio city reshaped by Haitian immigrants lands in an unwelcome spotlight [Video]
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