‘We need some help here’: Indiana town reportedly strained with massive

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Indiana locals are raising the alarm amid an overwhelming surge of foreign nationals flooding their communities as demands for help and transparency from the government have gone unheeded.

Logansport, a city about 78 miles north of Indianapolis, is being overwhelmed by migrants, and resident Dave Price thinks local and federal government officials are not paying enough attention to the growing crisis in the rural area that had a population of just over 18,000 in the 2020 census.

“We need some help here. We need some federal help. We need transparency between our local officials, and we need some more information and communication,” Price told “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday.

(Video Credit: Fox News)

“Logansport is just not used to [this]. We had immigrants come in throughout the years to Logansport from the Mexico area, so we have a lot of Hispanics in the area which have acclimated very well, and they’ve grown their businesses, and they’ve earned the respect of Americans, and we’ve respected them in return,” he said.

“But what we’re seeing now is a little different. It’s coming from a Third World country coming into Logansport, and these individuals don’t necessarily know the local laws or rules and how to behave here, basically, and we just ask that our local leaders, state and federal, take a look at Logansport, Indiana,” Price urged.

According to local Fox 59, the city is home to people from at least 28 countries and at least 27 languages are spoken there. But some government officials are speaking out about the influx of migrants, fearing it is “not sustainable” as the large numbers are straining the school system, hospitals, and more.

“Migrant spiritual leaders told city leaders that 5,000 Haitian immigrants have recently moved to the city, but the mayor said he has no way of verifying that number,” the outlet reported as Logansport Mayor Chris Martin lamented that there is no clear answer for how many migrants have come into the city.

“Here’s how we know it has changed,” he said. “Because of the 20 to 30% increase that we are seeing in a lot of our normal city services like traffic, school and the hospital.”

“The federal government has got to step in and help communities our size,” the mayor said.

(Video Credit: Fox59)

“I don’t think our school system can sustain what they are doing right now,” Cass County Health Department Administrator Serenity Alter said at a meeting last month with the Cass County Commissioners.

However, District Superintendent Michele Starkey disagreed.

“We can handle it,” Starkey said. “We are a public school, so we take in everyone who comes through the door and we meet them where they are no matter what.”

“The overall growth of school enrollment jumped by nearly 150 kids in three years,” Fox 59 reported. “This year there are 207 Haitian students in Logansport schools, up from 14 in 2021. Logansport also has new students this year from 11 other countries including Guatemala, Cuba, Honduras, and El Salvador.”

The Tyson meatpacking plant in Logansport is credited – or blamed – for an increase in the migrant population as many come looking for jobs. The company reportedly did not respond to the outlet’s questions about migrants working at the facility.

In addition, Logansport Memorial Hospital is reportedly facing “record births and more than 20,000 emergency room visits. 27% of their patients are on Medicaid, which puts a significant burden on obstetric care in Indiana,” Fox 59 reported.

Another “big concern” the mayor noted was the lack of housing and the resulting living conditions where sometimes 20-25 people are residing in one home. Martin told the outlet he has considered issuing a state of emergency over the many problems the city is facing but hopes to get some help from the governor’s office.

“We just want people to feel safe here in Logansport,” Price told Fox News. “It’s been a great community to live in the last century, and it’s been a wonderful place to raise your family and do business in, and we want to continue down that path.”

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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.