Trump says his mass deportation will begin in Ohio town where he falsely claimed Haitians were eating pets

Donald Trump said he would conduct the “largest deportation in the history” of the United States and begin by removing immigrants and migrants in Springfield, Ohio – the same town in which he falsely claimed Haitian immigrants were eating pets.

On Friday, the former president repeated his anti-immigration policies and amplified familiar unsubstantiated claims of “migrant crime” during a press conference at his golf course in Racho Palos Verdes, California.

“We’re going to have the largest deportation in the history of our country and we’re going to start with Springfield,” Trump said.

The former president has garnered international attention for falsely accusing the Haitian immigrant community in Springfield of abducting and “eating” people’s cats and dogs – a conspiracy theory that originated online but was quickly debunked by local and state officials.

Despite officials shutting down the accusations, the former president still insisted he would “deport” people living in Springfield – specifically Venezuelan migrants who he claimed were “emptied” from jails.

“We will do large deportations from Springfield, Ohio. Large deportations. We’re going to get these people back we’re bringing them back to Venezuela,” Trump said.

“They emptied their jails in Venezuela, emptied their criminals, emptied their nests. They call them nests of bad people. They’re all now in the United States and they’re taking over cities. It’s like an invasion from within,” he added.

Springfield has seen a large influx of immigrants from Haiti, not Venezuela. It is unclear why the former president mentioned Venezuelans.

Additionally, the Haitian immigrants living in Springfield are under Temporary Protected Status, according to the city’s website. This