Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio and Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota gathered for Tuesday's vice presidential debate on immigration overwhelming Springfield, Ohio.
Vance echoed. What he said to the Post Last month's exchange began with the moderator asking his Democratic opponent a question about the issue.
Walz said he believes Republicans want to fix the problem in Springfield, but he doesn't accept that his running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris, had anything to do with causing it.
Vance fired back, only offering Waltz an olive branch in return. “My biggest concern in Springfield, Ohio, is the American people whose lives have been destroyed by Kamala Harris' open borders. It's a shame, Tim,” he said.
Looking at Walz, he concluded: But Kamala Harris doesn't think so. ”
Vance told the Post last month in an exclusive interview on Trump Force Two that no town in America would be safe if a Democrat held the White House.
“Kamala Harris' plan is to basically turn every city in this country into a Springfield. There's a small town of 40,000 people there, and she's added 20,000 immigrants in the last few years. I accept it,” he said. “It's impossible for any town to absorb that. It's soaring house prices, stressed social services, an education system that isn't working, hospitals that aren't doing what they need to do, services that aren't doing what they need to do.”
“It's very hard to imagine a town accepting so many immigrants. It's by design and really needs to be fixed,” he added.
Nearly 20,000 mostly Haitian immigrants from the federal government's parole program have descended on the quiet mid-sized community of about 60,000 people over the past two years, straining the city's resources to breaking point. Many residents have expressed concerns to city officials about a variety of issues. From harassment to dumping old mattresses on front lawns, there are scattered reports of immigrants devouring ducks and devouring geese in the town about 45 minutes from Columbus.
Vance told the Post that he had been asking the town for help long before allegations of immigrants eating residents' pets hit the headlines.
City leaders and constituents told the city's office several months ago about “stress on the system,” particularly the “increase in homelessness” caused by “many people who cannot afford housing in Springfield.”
At a Senate Banking Committee hearing in July, Vance entered the letter from the city manager into the Congressional Record. spoke of Springfield's suffering. In the face of a surge in immigration.
“I have worked with my colleagues on the Banking Committee to try to identify some solutions,” Vance told the Post. Unfortunately, when you're in the U.S. Senate and Vice President Kamala Harris wants nothing more than to open the borders further, and with a White House as uncooperative as this, it's sometimes hard to actually find solutions. . ”
