Amid national tension surrounding the impact of Haitian immigration on the local community of Springfield, Ohio, entrepreneur and former Republican Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy held an invite-only town hall on Sept. 19 to address concerns from residents.
With a sea of American flags and MAGA hats, Ramaswamy's town hall at Springfield's Bushnell Event Center drew a capacity crowd and immense local interest, with RSVPs exceeding 2,000 for a venue that could only accommodate 300.
Ramaswamy and his team announced the town hall via X. He invited Springfield community members and Haitian immigrants to attend, saying he “[looked] forward to an unvarnished conversation.” Much of that conversation included campaign-style musings from Ramaswamy on American policy and culture. The often glitchy YouTube video of the town hall does not show every person in attendance, but none of the speakers during the 90 minute event identified themselves as part of the Haitian community.
Keep scrolling to watch the full town hall video.
Keep scrolling to watch the full town hall video.
Haitians in Springfield were recently thrust into the national spotlight after Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and vice presidential nominee JD Vance alleged in early September that Haitian residents of Springfield "who shouldn't be in this country" were stealing and eating the pets of other residents.
The influx of 15,000-20,000 Haitian immigrants that have settled in Springfield in the last two years, whom city officials confirm are here legally or hold Temporary Protected Status, has reportedly strained Springfield's resources, even as they fill crucial gaps in the community’s economy.
Ramaswamy began his town hall by establishing two ground rules for the discussion: honesty and respect.
“Be honest, don’t censor yourself, be respectful. Even with those who disagree with me or you or anybody else. That’s how we’re going to get our country back,” he said. “Through open conversations, through actually speaking without fear, we actually not only solve the problems of this country, but dare I say unite this country as well.”
Speakers at Ramaswamy’s town hall touched on a wide variety of topics and concerns surrounding immigration policy. Here are the standout moments:
Denouncement of federal policies
Ramaswamy, from his first X post about the town hall, repeatedly slammed national immigration for policies that “callously [use] these migrants as political pawns to sow division.”
One issue he specifically called out was with those looking to change the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which prohibits states from accepting and processing an application to register to vote in a federal election unless the applicant presents documentary proof of U.S. citizenship.
“If you want to understand where I think the problem is: I don’t think Houdini himself as a magician could have fixed a problem in Springfield if you have federal policies that are permitting millions of illegals and stretch the law to make them legals entering this country, and dumping them into cities like this one. It’s like the equivalent of sending 2 million people to New York City. Can you imagine that? That’s the effect of sending 20,000 people to Springfield,” he said.
At one point, Ramaswamy asked a speaker what he thinks the criteria should be for “the kinds of immigrants or migrants that Springfield should want to keep” versus the immigrants Springfield should “expel” or not allow to settle there in the future.
“If it was up to me we’d start all over. We’d send them away and start all over,” the man said. “If there are people who are working and these are honest jobs, fine, if they’re here just, again, they’re taking up social security.”
“There’s a dishonesty to the current program and the justification for it,” Ramaswamy responded. “The program I’m talking about is Temporary Protected Status, TPS. It was designed as a humanitarian program largely used after the earthquake in Haiti in 2010. And I think it is beyond bizarre that we should somehow assume that all of those people organically just decided to come to Springfield, Ohio. [...] If somebody came here through Temporary Protected Status, which is a humanitarian program, and now you’re using an economic justification to keep them, that’s dishonest.”
The blame game
Ramaswamy consistently emphasized that the immigrants and residents themselves were not to blame for the ongoing issues. Instead, he criticized the federal government's failure to support both newcomers and existing residents amid its push for immigration reform.
He also stated that, upon speaking with Haitian community leaders, he heard “very compelling stories” about their experiences, such as a Haitian doctor who put himself through nursing school post-immigration after his medical license did not transfer from Haiti.
Prior to the town hall, Ramaswamy said he met with a number of the city officials, stating that he understands frustration about how the local government is handling the issue.
“I know many of you may feel that your leadership doesn’t care. I met with them. I don’t think that’s true,” he said.
A woman named Crissy stepped up to the mic to criticize Springfield city leaders who did not attend Ramaswamy’s town hall.
“You came here from your hometown, we have city officials who live right here in Springfield and have not set up a meeting like this for Springfield,” she said.
One woman, who did not provide her name, spoke about an hour into the town hall, stating that she isn’t mad at the Haitian community and that she herself “would have ran here” if she was in their position.
“If we were in their shoes, we’d have done the same thing,” Ramaswamy replied in agreement.
Allegations of racism, navigating hateful language
A man named Brock, who identified himself as a half-black, said that the hateful language he’s experienced in his years of living in Springfield has worsened since the influx of national attention.
“I can count on both hands how many times a racial slur has been said my whole life. I’ve been called the N-word twice this week by just people who group me [in]…even though my skin may be lighter, I think people just group us together,” he said.
Ramaswamy responded to this by asserting that “the United States of America is not a racist country and the least racist country known to mankind,” and that he had never experienced racism growing up.
“There is a weird uptick in racial tension in this country that did not exist in the 30 years that I grew up right here in Southwest Ohio.” Ramaswamy replied.
The woman who sympathized with the Haitian community also spoke about her disdain for how the local government was characterizing concerned residents.
“We have been called racist by our mayor, by our city council. We have had NGO’s come into our city council, call us racist, put up signs in their church yard [that say] ‘I love Jesus with all my heart,’ but you have to bring truth in the word of Christ, not bits and pieces…” she said.
Ramaswamy said that it’s in America’s culture to be charitable and assist those in need, but that to preserve our strength as a country, politicians need to put US citizens first regardless of the negative language that may be used to describe them.
“That means saying no, when appropriate, even in the face of being called a racist, or a xenophobic person, or transphobic, or whatever it is, the next insult. [...] It’s not because you’re unkind, it’s because you have to be strong enough to protect your kindness in the first place,” he said.
Will Ramaswamy run for office in Ohio?
The woman who said she would have come to Springfield if she was in the Haitians’ position also asked Ramaswamy what the town should do once he leaves, stating that the mayor and local government were pushing against the citizens’ concerns.
“My commitment to you is that I don’t know what comes next for me after these next 50 days…” Ramaswamy began, before a woman interrupted him, calling for Ramaswamy to run for mayor of Springfield, which he politely chuckled at.
Then, someone who identified themselves as an Oregon-based journalist asked a question that sent the room into a roar of cheers and applause:
“One question for you — are you going to run for governor of Ohio?”
“I’m a little more inclined than I was about 10 seconds ago,” Ramaswamy said after the 10 seconds of applause died down.
Watch the full town hall below:
