As covered by The Daily Wire, Springfield, Ohio, has seen a massive influx of Haitian migrants since 2020, wreaking havoc on public services and causing a myriad of social problems.
But Springfield is not the only town struggling with a sudden influx of Haitian migrants.
Charleroi, a small town in Pennsylvania, has seen a 2000% increase in its immigration population in the past two years, with the majority coming from Haiti. The small town had a population of about 4,200 in 2022, before the sudden influx. Charleroi’s population has since doubled, according to Charleroi Council President Kristin Hopkins-Calcek.
Residents are noticing similar problems as Springfield citizens. For one, driving in the area has become increasingly hazardous.
“The immigrants now have been issued driver’s licenses but do not know how to read the traffic signs, causing numerous traffic accidents in the borough,” one long-time resident told The Daily Wire. “And I stress numerous, just about every week you hear about another causing injury or property damage.”
“Cars are going the wrong way and there are wrecks at least once a week,” another resident said during a City Council meeting, The Mon Valley Independent reported this week. “Three very bad accidents in less than one month. Something needs to be done before somebody is killed.”
One resident questioned how immigrants are so easily getting driver’s licenses. In Pennsylvania, immigrants with Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, are eligible to apply for a driver’s licenses.
“We need to reach out to our legislature to make changes on the driving privileges of drivers brought to this area from other countries,” she said. “It does not appear that any additional training or licensing is done before they’re given the privilege of driving a car. Something terrible is going to happen.”
Similar to Springfield, schools in the Charleroi area are over capacity and struggling to pay for resources and teachers who can teach English as a second language.
“The Charleroi School District is overwhelmed trying to teach and communicate with all the new students, with most not knowing how to speak English and taking away learning time from the rest of the kids,” the resident told The Daily Wire.
According to a CBS report from March, the district had to hire additional ELL (English language learners) teachers, an ELL coach for the teachers, and an interpreter, which cost more than $400,000. An additional $300,000 was projected to be spent for the 2025 school year.
The town is also struggling to beef up law enforcement, due to both the sudden rise in immigrant population and an issue with police retention.
Charleroi has had to increase its police budget by $73,000, compared to last year, according to a report from The Mon Valley Independent published Thursday. Residents are worried the increase will spark higher taxes, despite assurances from the council that there won’t be a larger-than-expected tax increase next year.
“We want to keep the public safe. We are having issues we have never had before,” Council President Kristin Hopkins-Calcek said. “Our population has doubled and we have our police enforcing everything that citizens have demanded over time that they enforce.”
As highlighted by The Daily Wire, the Biden-Harris administration this past June expanded temporary legal status to 300,000 Haitians, lasting until at least February 2026. This allows these migrants to remain and work in the U.S. until then, and possibly beyond. This was awarded to any Haitian in the U.S. who was here before or on June 3.
Biden also has a program that allows 30,000 migrants per month from Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to fly directly into the U.S. for two years if they have financial sponsors.
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