俄亥俄州斯普林菲尔德市——这座曾经繁荣的中西部工业城市的居民，曾渴望找到某种东西来凝聚人心，于是在1932年大萧条最严重的时候创造了这样一句座右铭：“为斯普林菲尔德说句好话，或者保持沉默。”这句口号旨在激励生活在这片土地上的人们团结一致，这里曾是肖尼族漫游的地方，后来欧洲移民来到这里，获自由的黑人家庭也在此安家落户。
The city’s economy has taken a hit as Haitian immigrants sequester in their homes or leave after the Trump administration canceled their temporary protected status. SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The denizens of this once booming industrial Midwestern city were pining for something to rally people around when they coined the motto: “Speak a good word for Springfield or say nothing.”It was the height of the Depression in 1932 and the slogan sought to inspire unity among those living in a place where the Shawnee once roamed, European immigrants arrived and freed Black families found a home.
如今，一些斯普林菲尔德居民表示，这座城市的信条正经受着考验。
Now some residents in Springfield, Ohio, say the city’s creed is being put to the test.
自从今夏数千名海地居民失去了免于驱逐出境的保护以来，数十人被捕，数十人失去工作，其他人则要么离开了美国，要么选择躲在家里，不敢露面。
Since thousands of Haitian residents lost their protection from deportation this summer, dozens have been arrested, scores have lost their jobs and others have either left the country or decided to hunker down at home, out of view.
招聘厨师、洗碗工和保姆的“招工”广告无人问津。海地居民正在限制用电量，因为他们担心如何支付账单。
“Help wanted” ads for cooks, dishwashers and babysitters are going unanswered. Haitian residents are limiting their electrical usage as they worry about how they will pay the bills.
斯普林菲尔德居民蒂姆·沃尔茨（Tim Voltz）帮助海地移民，他说：“我不确定美国历史上是否有先例，一个如此小的社区会失去这么大比例的劳动力和人口，人们被迫躲在家里不敢出门。这种局面无法持续。”
“I’m not sure there is precedent in U.S. history for this small a community to lose that much of its workforce and population cloistered at home,” said Tim Voltz, a Springfield resident who helps Haitian immigrants. “The situation is unsustainable.”
在经历了始于20世纪50年代工厂关闭、人口萎缩的数十年衰退后，俄亥俄州迈阿密河谷地区近几年一直在增长。新移民，包括来自委内瑞拉、尼加拉瓜和海地的人们，帮助提振了斯普林菲尔德的经济，增加了数千个新工作岗位。县卫生部门估计，过去十年里，海地裔人口已增长到约占该市总人口的20%至25%。
Ohio’s Miami Valley region had been growing in recent years, after decades of decline that began in the 1950s when factories shuttered and the area’s population shrunk. New immigrants, including people from Venezuela and Nicaragua, as well as Haiti, helped boost Springfield’s economy, adding thousands of new jobs. The county health department estimated the Haitian population grew to about 20 to 25 percent of the city over the last decade.
随后，唐纳德·特朗普在2024年总统竞选期间将矛头指向该市的海地裔居民，虚假声称他们大多非法入境，正在“摧毁”这座城市，并吃掉人们的宠物。位于克拉克县的斯普林菲尔德经济开始动摇，2025年该县流失的制造业岗位比前两年新增的还要多。
Then Donald Trump targeted the city’s Haitians during his 2024 presidential campaign, falsely claiming that most had arrived illegally, were “destroying” the city and were eating people’s pets. The economy began to falter in Clark County, where Springfield is located, losing more manufacturing jobs in 2025 than it had gained the two previous years.
斯普林菲尔德现在在同比失业岗位方面领跑全州。联邦就业报告显示，2025年该市劳动力在制造业、休闲和酒店业流失了1100个岗位，萎缩了2.2%。初步数据显示，这种下行趋势今年仍在继续。
Springfield now leads the state in year-over-year job losses. Federal job reports show the city’s labor force lost 1,100 manufacturing, leisure and hospitality jobs, contracting 2.2 percent in 2025. The downward trend has continued this year, preliminary data shows.
许多因素，包括不断上涨的交通和托儿成本，有助于解释为何俄亥俄人正在退出劳动力市场。但非营利组织“俄亥俄政策研究”的研究员莫莉·布里登表示，数据的时间点也暗示了与特朗普大规模驱逐行动可能存在关联。
Many factors, including rising transportation and child care costs, help explain why Ohioans are exiting the workforce. But Molly Bryden, a researcher with the nonprofit Policy Matters Ohio, said the the timing of the data also suggests a possible correlation with Trump’s mass deportation campaign.
“我们曾看到斯普林菲尔德工业复苏的迹象，但这些增益已被近期与联邦针对TPS（临时保护身份）的打击同时发生的损失所抵消，”布里登说。“让这样一个重要的社区处于威胁之下，确实具有破坏性。”一名男子在美国移民与海关执法局给他佩戴脚踝监测器追踪其行踪后自杀。
“We were seeing signs of the revitalizing industry in Springfield but those gains have been moderated by more recent losses that coincide with federal attacks on TPS,” Bryden said. “To have such an important community under threat is really destabilizing ” One man took his life after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement outfitted him with an ankle monitor to track his whereabouts.
倡导者称，一些斯普林菲尔德的海地裔居民选择了离开，而留下的许多人则处于移民自己描述为“自我强制居家监禁”的状态。越来越多的居民表示，这座城市感觉越来越空旷。
Some of Springfield’s Haitians have chosen to leave, advocates say, and many of those who remain are under what immigrants themselves described as a self-imposed house arrest. Increasingly, some residents say, the city feels empty.
“现在，我们都在挣扎，”阿图罗·博哈伊说，他是斯普林菲尔德大街上一家名为“El Canario”的汽车修理店的老板。“没有人了。”
“Now, we are all struggling,” said Arturo Bojhay, the owner of “El Canario,” an auto repair shop on Springfield’s Main Street. “There are no people.”
埃丝特·盖坦的丈夫彼得森·诺齐尔在9月初从妻子的医生预约返回途中被移民官员拦截。这对夫妇于2022年穿越美墨边境申请庇护。和估计的其他35万名海地人一样，他们获得了临时保护身份，即TPS。诺齐尔在海地是一名数学教师，在俄亥俄州找到了操作叉车的工作。
Esther Getan’s husband, Peterson Nozil, was stopped by immigration officers in early September on his way home from a doctor appointment for his wife. The couple crossed the U.S.-Mexico border to request asylum in 2022. Like an estimated 350,000 other Haitians, they were granted temporary protected status, known as TPS. Nozil, a math teacher in Haiti, found work in Ohio operating a forklift.
TPS并非通往合法居留的途径，但他们希望这能给他们争取时间来推进庇护申请，并有望最终获得绿卡。
TPS wasn’t a path to legal residency, but they hoped it would allow them time to pursue their asylum claim and hopefully obtain a green card.
现在盖坦说她几乎无法进食和入睡。她2岁的女儿半夜里尖叫着找父亲。盖坦和孩子的体重都在下降。“我的心无法平静，”盖坦说。
Now Getan says she can barely eat or sleep. Her 2-year-old daughter screams for her father in the middle of the night. Both Getan and her child are losing weight. “My heart is not at peace,” Getan said.
在诺斯明斯特长老会教堂牧师史蒂文·梅林及其部分教友的帮助下，她勉强维持着生活。尽管许多人靠固定收入生活，他们还是捐出了力所能及的钱财。有人把汇票塞在牧师办公室门下，帮忙支付诺齐尔的律师费。其他人则提供饭菜。
She is surviving in part with the help of Steven Merrin, pastor of the Northminster Presbyterian Church, and some of his parishioners. Even though many live on fixed incomes, they donate what they could. Some slipped money orders under the pastor’s office door to help pay for Nozil’s lawyer. Others provided meals.
梅林说，每当他看着诺齐尔平日周日礼拜时常坐的那排长椅，不见他的身影，就感到心痛。
Merrin said he is pained each time he looks at the pew Nozil usually sat in during Sunday services and doesn’t see him there.
“有一种空缺感，让人沮丧，”他说。“我就是无法接受这种情况。” 依赖海地裔客户的商家正艰难维持经营。经营多家便利店和支票兑现店的伊斯梅尔·索塞多说，与去年相比，销售额下降了近40%。
“There is an absence and it’s frustrating,” he said. “I’m just not all right with this.”Businesses that depended on Haitian clients are struggling to stay open. Ismael Saucedo, who operates several convenience and check-cashing stores, said sales are down nearly 40 percent compared to last year.
“过去人们会一次性购买很多大蕉，”他说，“现在他们只买一两根而已。”博杰海（Bojhay）的汽车修理店位于市中心西侧，已成为许多新移民寻找住所、工作或寻求帮助的临时据点。店前的玻璃展示柜里陈列着顾客送给他的各种拉丁美洲国家的货币。这位出生于墨西哥的美国公民凭借出色的修理技术，每周能从客户那里赚取高达3万美元的收入。“我们接到的电话太多，根本忙不过来，”他说。
“People used to buy an entire bunch of plantains,” he said. “Now they take one or two.”Bojhay’s auto repair business just west of downtown had become an unofficial hub for many arriving immigrants looking for housing, jobs or a friendly guide. The glass case at the front of his shop displays the currencies of different Latin American countries that customers gifted him. The U.S. citizen, who was born in Mexico, garnered loyal clients who helped him earn up to $30,000 a week repairing their cars. “We got so many calls we couldn’t keep up with the work,” he said.
然而，随着那些失去工作许可（TPS）的委内瑞拉和尼加拉瓜移民决定离开，他的生意陷入了困境；海地移民也不再愿意找他修理汽车，他的利润锐减，甚至连自己的生活开支都难以维持。“这种事情以前从未发生过，”他说。
His financial fortunes took a nosedive as spooked Venezuelan and Nicaraguan immigrants, who had also lost TPS, decided to leave. Haitians stopped seeking his services. His profits disappeared, and he can no longer afford to pay even himself. “That has never happened,” he said.
在斯普林菲尔德的移民社区之外，咖啡馆和啤酒馆依然热闹非凡。但这些居民也意识到了这些变化。
Outside Springfield’s immigrant community, the coffee shops and brewpubs are still crowded and lively. But those residents, too, are aware of the changes.
一位在当地咖啡馆工作的妇女表示，她非常喜欢她儿子所在高中的多样性——她的儿子与海地人、亚洲人和拉丁裔学生一起在乐队中演奏萨克斯管。这位妇女将自己的家族渊源追溯到多年前从肯塔基州移民至此的经历。她说，许多人都在努力支持他们的海地邻居，让海地人真正融入这个社区。
One woman at a local shop said she loves the diversity of her son’s high school, where he plays in the marching band alongside Haitian, Asian and Hispanic saxophonists. The woman traces her Springfield roots to her own family’s migration years ago — from Kentucky. She said many people are trying to rally around their Haitian neighbors, who are now part of the community.
不过，并非所有人都持这种观点。这位女士要求只用名字“卡里”（Kari）来称呼自己，因为她担心公开谈论这个敏感话题会招致同事的反对。
But not everyone sees it that way. The woman asked to be identified only by her first name, Kari, saying she feared repercussions from coworkers for speaking out on a sensitive issue.
“这里的人们不仅仅是经济体系中的齿轮，”卡里说，“他们是我们的朋友和邻居，我们正在努力让这个社区更加紧密团结。”社区居民们每月都会在市中心举行和平游行，呼吁大家团结一致，支持移民同胞。他们时刻警惕联邦政府的执法人员，雇主们也会在移民档案中附上支持信件，表达对移民们的支持。
“The people here are not just cogs in the economic wheel,” Kari said. “They are our friends and neighbors and we are trying so hard to strengthen our community.”Residents gather for a monthly peace walk downtown calling for solidarity with their immigrant neighbors. They keep an eye out for federal agents, and employers are slipping letters of support into immigration case files.
“Darline一直是团队的宝贵财富，”工业与医疗护理招聘公司Emergent Hiring的Justin Dawson最近代表Darline Jean Baptiste写道。“我们知道她的工作单位非常希望她能回去上班。”
“Darline has been a great asset to her team,” Justin Dawson of Emergent Hiring, an industrial and health care staffing company, wrote recently on behalf of Darline Jean Baptiste. “We know that her workplace would love to have her back.”
Beaubrun Charles Ardouin是一名美国公民，同时也是海地人。8月中旬，他在开车送Baptiste和其他海地移民下班回家途中被ICE（美国移民与海关执法局）官员拦截。他说，官员威胁如果不让他们进行“移民检查”就砸碎车窗。Ardouin在接受采访时回忆道，其中一名官员在检查乘客证件前嘟囔了一句：“TPS结束了。”他在提交联邦法院的文件中重述了这一经过，作为寻求Baptiste获释出入境拘留的请愿书的一部分。
Beaubrun Charles Ardouin, a U.S. citizen who is also Haitian, was driving Baptiste and other Haitian immigrants home from work in mid-August when they were stopped by ICE officers. He said the officers threatened to break his windows if he didn’t let them conduct an “immigration check.”“TPS is over,” one of them muttered before checking the identifications of his passengers, Ardouin recalled in an interview. He repeated his account in documents submitted in federal court as part of a petition seeking Baptiste’s release from immigration detention.
Ardouin说，他车上的一名乘客此后已被驱逐出境。两年前，Baptiste通过拜登时代的假释计划抵达斯普林菲尔德，她在一家汽车零部件制造工厂倒夜班，供养留在海地的两个孩子。
One person who was inside his van has since been deported, Ardouin said. Baptiste, who arrived in Springfield two years ago through a Biden-era parole program, was supporting her two children back in Haiti by working the graveyard shift at an auto parts manufacturing factory.
“我能理解如果有人触犯了法律，”Ardouin说。“但我的乘客是合法入境的，持有工作许可，且正在走法律程序。他们刚工作了12个小时，却像罪犯一样被戴上手铐。”
“I understand if people break the law,” Ardouin said. “But my passengers came legally, had work permits and were in a process. They had worked 12 hours and were cuffed like criminals.”
特朗普在过去三届总统大选中均赢得了俄亥俄州。但今秋，民主党有机会夺回一个参议院席位，并几十年来首次赢得州长职位。民调显示，甚至在今夏TPS决定出台之前，民众对特朗普政府移民执法行动的不安情绪就已在加剧。
Trump won Ohio in the last three presidential elections. But this fall, Democrats have a chance to win back a Senate seat and secure the governor’s office for the first time in decades. Polling shows growing unease with the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement, even before this summer’s TPS decision.
斯普林菲尔德的座右铭——“为斯普林菲尔德说句好话，或者保持沉默”——印在当地游客中心出售的T恤和纪念品上。许多居民表示，他们仍视其为城市的信条。当地历史学家Kevin Rose说，在他看来，这句格言体现了这座城市的长久面貌：几代新来者的家园，他们让斯普林菲尔德成为今天的模样。
Springfield’s motto — “Speak a good word for Springfield or say nothing” — is plastered on T-shirts and souvenirs sold at the local visitors center. Numerous residents said they still think of it as the city’s creed. Local historian Kevin Rose said that for him it exemplifies what the city has long been: a home for generations of newcomers who went on to make Springfield what it is today.
他说，还有其他人说，最重要的是，居民希望国家领导人在这个选举季尊重他们城市的座右铭——尤其是其中关于什么都不说的那部分。
More than anything, he and others said, residents hope national leaders will respect their city mantra this election season — particularly the part about saying nothing at all.
“这个社区正在进行灵魂探索，”罗斯说，“我们要确保这一切都不会让我们倒退。”
“This community is soul searching,” Rose said, “and we want to make sure none of this sets us back.”