Former President Donald Trump said Friday that if he were president, he would carry out large-scale deportations of migrants, starting in Ohio and Colorado.
“We are going to have the largest deportation in the history of our country,” he told reporters during a news conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. “And we’ll start with Springfield and Aurora.”
This oath began during a debate with Vice President Kamala Harris earlier this week, when she made a statement that was criticized about migrants in Springfield that “they eat dogs – people who come in, they are eating cats. They are eating – they are eating pets from people who live in where ABC moderator David Muir said the city manager disputed the claim, as did Sen. After the debate, Trump also shared an AI-generated post that showed pets supporting his presidential candidacy.
Speaking on a golf course overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the Republican presidential candidate said he would take the migrants “back to Venezuela,” even though most of the migrants in Springfield are Haitians. Thousands of Haitians have moved to the city of Springfield of 58,000 in the past few years, which Ohio’s Republican governor says has strained the local health care infrastructure.
But the majority of Haitian migrants are in the US legally and legally working. In the last two fiscal years, the US has processed 156,000 Haitian migrants at the southern border, according to figures from Customs and Border Protection. Of those, about 98% have been processed at a legal point of entry, usually after obtaining an appointment through a US government application to enter the country legally.
Thousands of Haitians are in the U.S. legally under two programs: Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, provides deportation protection and work permits to immigrants from countries experiencing armed conflict, environmental disasters and other humanitarian emergencies. The program does not grant permanent legal status. During the Biden administration, the US also started a new humanitarian parole program for Haitians, Nicaraguans, Cuba and Venezuela that allows people from those countries to live and work in the US for two years without fear of deportation if they have a sponsor here. will provide financial support.
The Associated Press noted that after the pandemic, many Haitians moved to Springfield, which experienced a decline in production in the 1990s, causing the population to shrink. But in recent years, the city has seen an increase in demand for labor, and Haitians have helped fill those jobs.
Springfield’s mayor, police chief and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Republicans, all say there are no credible reports that pets are stolen and eaten by migrants.
Several Springfield government buildings and schools were closed Thursday due to a bomb threat, according to a city statement. Vance is still casting Springfield as an example of poor immigration policy.
“In Springfield, Ohio, there is an increase in communicable diseases, rent prices, car insurance rates, and crime,” Vance posted to “X” on Friday. “This is what happens when you put 20,000 people into a small community. Kamala Harris’ immigration policy aims to do this in every city in our country.”
Governor DeWine announced new state support for Springfield because of the influx of Haitian migrants. DeWine’s office said migrants from Haiti generally have little or no health care, including vaccinations. The state is providing $2.5 million to expand access to primary care for Springfield residents.
“I want the people of Springfield and Clark County to know that as we move forward, we will continue to do everything we can to help our communities deal with this surge of migrants,” DeWine said. “The federal government hasn’t shown that they have a plan to deal with the problem. We’re not going away.”
Mr. Biden on Friday criticized rhetoric from Trump and other Republicans about Haitians in the U.S. during an event honoring Black excellence at the White House.
He called Haitians in Springfield a “community under attack in our country right now. It’s just wrong.” Mr. Biden said of Trump, “This has to stop, what he’s doing.
Camilo Montoya-Galvez contributed to this report.
