Trump Threatens To Deport Haitians Who Legally Came To Ohio City

Donald Trump made more incendiary comments about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, amid threats to the city prompted by GOP statements.

While speaking to reporters in Los Angeles on Friday, the former president and current Republican nominee threatened to deport the Haitians in Springfield, despite the majority of them being in the U.S. legally.

“We will do large deportations from Springfield, Ohio, large deportations. We’re going to get these people out. We’re bringing them back to Venezuela,” he said . It’s unclear if he meant to say Venezuela.

On Thursday, multiple buildings, including City Hall were evacuated after a bomb threat. An elementary school was also evacuated and closed Friday after the threat. The threats arrived the same week that Trump amplified baseless claims about Haitian immigrants in Springfield. About 12,000 to 15,000 immigrants live in the area surrounding Springfield, according to ABC News. The western Ohio city’s metro area population is about 136,000.

“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs,” Trump said at the presidential debate on Tuesday night. “The people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there. And this is what’s happening in our country. And it’s a shame.”

The remarks stemmed from far-right users online who conflated a missing cat in Springfield with an unrelated video of a woman being arrested after allegedly eating a cat. Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), Trump’s running mate, made similar comments earlier this month about the Haitian community, repeating the baseless claims about Haitians stealing and eating pets.

“Months ago, I raised the issue of Haitian illegal immigrants draining social services and generally causing chaos all