Residents in small Ohio village reveal biggest concerns after community rocked by illegal immigrants
LOCKLAND, OHIO – Residents in this small village, where the population is just 3,400, have seen their lives upended by an influx of thousands of illegal immigrants that residents say has left strains on services and a significant drop in their quality of life.
Officials have previously told Fox News Digital that there have been around 3,000 mostly Mauritanian illegal immigrants arriving in the small village of 3,400 residents, and it has strained services and made life worse for the people that live there.
Migrants have clustered primarily in a number of apartment blocks in the area. Officials say the influx is hurting the village coffers as working residents are moving out to be replaced by illegal immigrants who are not contributing.
"Our fire and paramedic services have been stressed. Since they moved into these apartment complexes, a lot of the longtime residents have moved out because of multiple fires. It's been caused by their not understanding how to cook on stoves, and they use high levels of grease in their cooking, which have caused multiple fires," Mayor Mark Mason Sr. said in an interview this month.
"And so a lot of people don't want to subject their families to unsafe conditions in these apartment complexes. So, therefore, they've moved out – the working residents – and they have moved in. And most don't have jobs, they don't contribute to society. They don't contribute to your earnings tax base. And it's a real concern," he said.
Residents have echoed those concerns. One woman, Kelly, who lives on the top floor of one of the apartment buildings, says she is one of a few remaining Americans in the building, with the rest being illegal immigrants.
She says the block has now become known as "the African village" due to the influx, where she says there are now about 85% illegal immigrants.
"With the illegals hanging out in the apartment, at first they were hanging out 50 a day out in the parking lots and walking around. They don't move out of your way when you're driving. They don't seem to care," she said.
"The fires that have been going on, I mean, the fire departments here, if not every day. Every other day. And I think at least four to five fires in less than the last six months. And the smoke alarms are going off constantly. They don't know how to use the electric stoves and with all the oil and that they use, the smell of the food through the halls all the time is pretty bad," she said.
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"The fires, that's what scares me. I live on the third floor and pretty much by myself. And I'm afraid I'm going to burn up in a fire one night, because everybody that lives below me is all the illegals. In the two next to me . . . there are illegals, too, and the smoke alarms are going off day and night there."
"We're all wanting to get out of here, the Americans," she said.
Another resident, Aaron, said immigration was the biggest issue facing the village, noting the packed apartments.
"When it comes to the community center down here, they're overwhelmed by it. And the churches are overwhelmed, the resources are limited."
Loitering was also an issue mentioned by some residents.
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"There's just so many of them hanging out, on the streets and the sidewalks. I'd be afraid to walk that way, and I've been here 37 years," Dave, who lives on the town’s east side, told Fox. "I wish something could be done to keep them off the sidewalks."
Other residents pointed to other issues facing the village, like crime and drugs, although not necessarily connected to immigration. Marilyn Bartko, who lives near Lockland, didn't mention immigration as a top issue.
"I would think the need in Lockland for industry, for people to have better housing and better schooling and for the powers that be to work on having less crime," she said. "Because I think areas like this are often left to their own. People forget, and they say, ‘Lockland’s too dangerous,' but people don't try to change things here," she said.
Village Administrator Doug Wehmeyer told Fox News Digital recently that it is leading to around $150,000 in losses for the village, as the illegal immigrants do not pay taxes and are displacing local residents who are moving out of those apartments.
"I don't know how they found our small village. We like it. We think it's a great place to live, but the quality of life here is definitely being affected by this problem," he said.
Lockland’s case echoes towns and cities like Springfield, Ohio, which saw a surge in Haitian migration in recent years, and Charleroi, Pennsylvania, which has also been overwhelmed by Haitian migration.
Former President Trump has pointed to both of those towns as what he saw as the consequences of the Biden administration’s border policies, including its expansion of parole programs via the CBP One app and the use of Temporary Protected Status to protect some from deportation.
In terms of illegal immigration, he has promised to continue building a wall at the southern border and restore many of his policies, as well as launch a mass deportation operation.
Vice President Kamala Harris has challenged Trump’s narrative, and promised to sign a bipartisan border security bill if elected. But she has also called for a sweeping 2021 bill that also would have included a mass amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants already in the U.S.
Fox News' Emma Woodhead contributed to this report.