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10-29-2024, 01:48 PM
Overwhelmed' by influx of migrants, Lockland leaders say they need help: 'I don't think anybody was prepared'
LOCKLAND, Ohio — In 2023, the Village of Lockland had a population of just 3,500. One year later, village leaders say that number has doubled as an estimated 3,000 West African migrants pack into the small Hamilton County community.
The dramatic influx is overwhelming finances, resources and emergency services in the village, which only spans 1.2 miles between neighboring Reading and Wyoming.
"With the federal government's open border policy, these immigration population outbursts have been left for small villages like Lockland to have to deal with," Mayor Mark Mason told WCPO Tuesday. "If they're going to have an open border policy they're going to need a policy to direct these immigrants to communities that can withstand that kind of population outburst. 1.2 square mile village — it's unsustainable."
Thousands of asylum seekers from Mauritania — an Islamic country in West Africa — have been migrating to the U.S. in recent years. More than 8,500 found their way to Ohio between March and June 2023, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Mauritania was one of the last nations to criminalize slavery, and the practice is widely believed to persist in parts of the country.
Many Mauritanians are finding their way to Cincinnati from a route posted on TikTok and WhatsApp that flows from Mauritania to Turkey, then Central or South America to the U.S.
"In the last year it's just ballooned," Mason said "TikTok stories telling people how to get to the Village of Lockland and I think that has aided the explosion."
Many of the Mauritanian people in Lockland were able to enter the U.S. under current federal migration policies. Though their entrance into the country triggered the start of a work permit application process, approvals can take between a year and 18 months.
Because many of the 3,000 migrants living in the village do not work legally, Mason said they do not pay taxes.
"We're looking at, right now, at probably close to a $200,000 shortfall in our earnings income tax revenue," he said.
more in the link
https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/lockland/overwhelmed-by-influx-of-migrants-lockland-leaders-say-they-need-help-i-dont-think-anybody-was-prepared
LOCKLAND, Ohio — In 2023, the Village of Lockland had a population of just 3,500. One year later, village leaders say that number has doubled as an estimated 3,000 West African migrants pack into the small Hamilton County community.
The dramatic influx is overwhelming finances, resources and emergency services in the village, which only spans 1.2 miles between neighboring Reading and Wyoming.
"With the federal government's open border policy, these immigration population outbursts have been left for small villages like Lockland to have to deal with," Mayor Mark Mason told WCPO Tuesday. "If they're going to have an open border policy they're going to need a policy to direct these immigrants to communities that can withstand that kind of population outburst. 1.2 square mile village — it's unsustainable."
Thousands of asylum seekers from Mauritania — an Islamic country in West Africa — have been migrating to the U.S. in recent years. More than 8,500 found their way to Ohio between March and June 2023, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Mauritania was one of the last nations to criminalize slavery, and the practice is widely believed to persist in parts of the country.
Many Mauritanians are finding their way to Cincinnati from a route posted on TikTok and WhatsApp that flows from Mauritania to Turkey, then Central or South America to the U.S.
"In the last year it's just ballooned," Mason said "TikTok stories telling people how to get to the Village of Lockland and I think that has aided the explosion."
Many of the Mauritanian people in Lockland were able to enter the U.S. under current federal migration policies. Though their entrance into the country triggered the start of a work permit application process, approvals can take between a year and 18 months.
Because many of the 3,000 migrants living in the village do not work legally, Mason said they do not pay taxes.
"We're looking at, right now, at probably close to a $200,000 shortfall in our earnings income tax revenue," he said.
more in the link
https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/lockland/overwhelmed-by-influx-of-migrants-lockland-leaders-say-they-need-help-i-dont-think-anybody-was-prepared