Vivek Ramaswamy hosts town hall meeting in Springfield, Ohio, as residents share concerns about influx of migrants to city

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy held a town hall meeting Thursday in Springfield, Ohio, a city that has been thrust into the 2024 race, calling for an open conversation about the migrant debate that has divided the country.

“We’ve been told, especially by the media, to shut up, to sit down, to do what we’re told, to sweep it under the rug, or we’re guilty of a sin,” Ramaswamy said Thursday night. “And I just think the truth in this country is that we don’t have to agree on everything. We really don’t. We never have in America. But the beauty of this country is that we should be able to talk about it openly, and that’s what we’re going to do tonight.”

“Our ground rules for tonight are honesty and respect for our fellow citizens,” Ramaswamy told the crowd.

Influx of Haitian migrants causes serious security concern for Springfield residents

Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy held a town hall meeting in Springfield, Ohio, as the city is immersed in 2024 politics. (Joseph A. Wulfsohn/Fox News Digital)

Ramaswamy, a Trump supporter from Ohio who grew up near Columbus and was a frequent visitor to Springfield as a child, met with city officials and Haitian community leaders before the public meeting. It was held in a small banquet hall with about 200 Springfield residents in the room, with another 100 in an overflow room.

He stressed after meeting with the Haitian group that he did not blame them for wanting to come to the United States, but that he was questioning the “federal policies” of the Biden-Harris administration.

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Many Springfield residents have expressed concern about the toll the city has taken since the influx of Haitian migrants.

Chrissy, a 66-year resident of Springfield, lashed out at city officials for not holding such an event with the public to address their concerns.

“How can you know a city if you don’t bring people together and talk to them?” Chrissy complained to Ramaswamy.

Vivek Ramaswamy spoke to residents of Springfield, Ohio at a town hall meeting on September 19, 2024. (Joseph A. Wulfsohn/Fox News Digital)

Ramaswamy responded by saying he thought “not very popular in this room” about city officials, noting that they had been invited to attend the town hall but did not show up.

“I think they care, at least the subset that I met with,” Ramaswamy said. “But I’ll tell you what I see happening in the country. I think there’s a culture of fear, actually. I think the reason they’re not here tonight is not because they don’t care, it’s because they’re afraid.”

“They're just good Americans, patriots who love their country and their city, who are fighting because the people they elected to run their federal government to the bitter end have failed them. And you don't have to be afraid to stand face to face with your fellow citizens,” he added.

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Brock, a half-black Springfield resident for more than 20 years, sounded the alarm about the “hateful language” that has “increased” since his city received such national attention.

“I can probably count on two hands the number of racial slurs I’ve been called in my entire life. I’ve been called nigger twice this week,” Brock said, before recounting how darker-skinned friends have been kicked out of stores and accused of being Haitian.

While reiterating his belief that the United States is not a “racist country,” Ramaswamy responded by acknowledging the “strange rise of racial tensions in this country” that did not exist in his childhood, linking the rise of bigotry to DEI. [Diversity, Equity and Inclusion] The ideology, he said, “creates more racial animosity.”

Springfield, Ohio, has been at the heart of 2024 politics in recent weeks. (Joseph A. Wulfsohn/Fox News Digital)

One woman told Ramasawamy that her daughter was chased out of a Walmart store by “immigrants,” one of whom was carrying a “machete.” But after her daughter called the police to file a complaint, the police “never investigated the crime.”

“That's how you know there's no crime in Springfield because no one reports it,” the mother added.

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Others accused city officials and the country as a whole of prioritizing care for migrants over the homeless and veterans.

While much of the municipal hall was dark, the crowd erupted into massive cheers after Ramaswamy was asked if he would run for governor of Ohio.

“I'm a little more inclined than I was ten seconds ago,” Ramaswamy joked.

Springfield has been hit by a wave of national media coverage as the city's struggles with the migrant crisis have become a divisive issue in the 2024 race.