Former President Trump intensified his attacks on Haitian immigrants in the Ohio city on Thursday, days after he repeated a conspiracy theory at a debate that Haitians eat their pets.
Speaking in the border state of Arizona, Trump slammed Vice President Harris over the recent surge in migrants at the southern border, likening it to a “military invasion” and claiming the country is being “occupied by a foreign power.”
He focused specifically on Springfield, Ohio, a city that has become the center of the immigration debate after President Trump and others spread false claims about Haitian immigrants there.
President Trump on Thursday called Haiti a “totally failed country” and said migrants were a burden on local communities.
“There's a place you're reading about called Springfield, Ohio, where 20,000 illegal Haitian immigrants came into a town of 58,000 people and destroyed their way of life. This was a beautiful community and what's happening now is horrible,” Trump said.
Many Haitians are in the U.S. under Temporary Protected Status, which allows them to avoid deportation to their troubled country and allow them to work in the U.S. The Biden administration plans to allow an estimated 309,000 Haitians to stay in the U.S. until at least February 2026.
He repeated local authorities' concerns that migrants were a strain on social services and false claims that migrants were kidnapping animals.
Springfield, a city of about 60,000, has seen roughly 15,000 Haitian immigrants arrive in recent years.Associated Press.
During Tuesday night's debate, Trump touted a now-debunked conspiracy theory about immigrants in Springfield eating pets.
Springfield police and other city officials denied there had been any reports of abductions, and Mayor Brian Heck told The Hill that the false controversy was a “cover-up” of the city's real struggles to get immigrants into social services.
“I checked with the mayor,” ABC News host David Muir said at a panel in Philadelphia, adding that authorities had found no evidence to support the claims that immigrants had eaten pets.
“They're eating dog!” Trump yelled, and Harris appeared to laugh.
Trump has repeatedly sought to attack Harris on immigration, calling her a “border czar” for addressing the root causes of migration in Central America. Trump and his campaign have also highlighted stories of Americans allegedly killed by immigrants who had entered the U.S. illegally, arguing that Harris and her policies have made the U.S. less safe.
Polls have shown that voters trust Trump more than Harris on immigration issues. Trump's roleThey voted down a bipartisan border security proposal earlier this year.
