Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump pledged mass deportations of Haitian immigrants from Springfield, Ohio, during a press conference at his golf resort in Los Angeles on Friday.
The controversial promise comes despite the fact that the majority of the city’s 15,000 Haitian residents are in the United States legally.
Springfield has become a flashpoint for right-wing misinformation, with false claims circulating on social media that newly arrived Haitians were eating household pets.
Trump avoided repeating the accusations during his remarks but reiterated his call for hardline immigration policies, including large-scale deportations.
“We will do large deportations in Springfield, Ohio,” Trump said. His comments mark an escalation in his campaign rhetoric, which typically targets illegal immigrants.
Springfield’s Haitian community, however, has largely benefited from Temporary Protected Status (TPS), extended by the Biden administration in June due to the ongoing crisis in Haiti.
Tensions in the city have reached a boiling point, with bomb threats targeting schools for the second day in a row. Springfield’s mayor, Rob Rue, condemned the divisive rhetoric, stating, “We need help, not hate.”
City officials have confirmed there is no evidence to support claims of pets being eaten, and Haitian community leaders across the U.S. have warned that Trump’s remarks could incite violence and deepen social divisions.
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