The town of Springfield Ohio has recently become the focus of media conversation on immigration. Following former President Donald Trump’s claims about immigrant Haitians during a recent debate, the discussion on immigration has taken a turn with the town of Springfield front and center.
What was said and is it true?
During the presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump, the former president made a claim that Haitian immigrants in Springfield were consuming people’s pets — specifically cats and dogs. Further claims from the Trump campaign and others online claim that ducks and geese were being killed and taken by local Haitian immigrants.
Since these allegations, multiple officials from the Ohio town have come out to say that there is no substantive evidence of these events occurring.
Dispatchers in Clark County, where Springfield is located, received a call that alleged four Haitian immigrants were taking geese. The Clark County Commissioner recently stated that no evidence had been found to confirm these allegations.
What is Harris’ response?
Vice President Harris recently commented on the Springfield story and the claims of the Trump campaign. She called out the comments as divisive, hateful and racist.
“It’s hateful and grounded in some age-old stuff that we should not have the tolerance for,” Harris said.
What followed this?
Following the political attention to the town, a multitude of bomb threats have been made against the city of Springfield. The vast majority of these threats were from overseas and found to be fake.
“We have received at least 33 separate bomb threats … each one of whom has been found as a hoax,” Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said.
DeWine is assuring residents that they are safe, and he is committing state troopers to local schools to ensure people feel secure.
Why was it said?
Many in the media have been quick to point out the little evidence behind the claims about the immigrants. However, Trump’s campaign has been just as quick to defend the allegations, which have come under even more scrutiny following the recent falsified bomb threats.
“If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do,” Vance said. Spreading unverified — and often harmful — stories is a tactic often used by Trump and his administration, and it has led to increased threats and discrimination against minority communities.
Vance claims that his constituents’ reports are enough for him to continue the story, claiming that the media is ignoring his constituents. He claims this is how he and the Trump campaign can make the media report on border policy.
It’s clear that Trump and Vance’s tactic is to turn media attention to the border, even if it’s in a way that is unfavorable to them. Border security is a key strength in their campaign. This is a tactic that largely worked for Trump in 2016 but has been less effective in recent elections.
The political ramifications are substantial as the border debate becomes the center focus in the media, even if it is in a negative light to the Republican candidate.
What does this mean for Trumps’ border policy?
Trump said that he would do many mass deportations of Haitian immigrants from Springfield — which has raised debates about the ethics of deportation and the border crisis as a whole.
Deportations are typically reserved for those who are in the country illegally, but the vast majority of the residents in Springfield are legal immigrants. Their legal status is contested by the Trump campaign.
“They’re in the country through what’s called temporary protective status. That is when Kamala Harris waved a magical amnesty wand,” Vance said.
The temporary protected status program was created in 1990 to grant temporary immigration status to individuals whose home countries were unsafe or in crisis. Former President Obama originally gave temporary protected status to Haitians in January 2010, and President Joe Biden extended their status under his administration.
What’s next?
Trump recently announced that he will soon be visiting Springfield. It is unclear if the rhetoric will take any shift during his visit, or if any more policy information will be released.