Donald Trump promises 'large deportations' from Springfield days after debate

President Donald Trump on Friday promised "large deportations" from Springfield if elected in his latest comments on the city's struggles with a booming Haitian migrant population .

While talking at a press conference in California, Trump was asked if he would have an event in Springfield. He said he might.

"I can say this, 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 wasn't immediately clear why the former president mentioned Venezuela in relation to Springfield, which has seen a surge in migrants from Haiti, not Venezuela.

Springfield has been at the crosshairs of the immigration debate this week as Trump and his running mate, Ohio's U.S. Sen. JD Vance, have spread unfounded rumors about the Haitian immigrants stealing residents' pets and eating them .

Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck, through his office, released a statement saying there's no evidence of any cats or other pets being harmed or eaten by the Haitian immigrants. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources fielded two complaints in recent months about people taking waterfowl from parks , but investigators did not find any evidence to support the callers' reports.

While Trump promised deportations in Springfield, the Haitians there are largely in the United States legally under a temporary protected status designation, which allows migrants from countries with unsafe conditions to reside and work legally in the United States. Today, about 610,000 foreign nationals from sixteen countries hold the designation, according to the nonpartisan Council on Foreign Relations think tank . The council mentioned that the status has been used by roughly 472,000 Venezuelans.

According to Springfield's FAQ page, current protected status for Haitians runs through Feb. 3, 2026. Immigrants cannot be deported while protected under the status. The U.S. government granted the protection to people from Haiti as it struggles to recover from natural disasters and internal turmoil.

Springfield, a central Ohio city of 58,000 about 50 miles west of Columbus, is experiencing a "significant housing crisis," according to a letter from Heck. Heck said said the city's Haitian population has increased to 15,000-20,000 in recent years.

Springfield city leaders have asked politicians not to spread falsehoods about the immigrant population in their community because it distracts from the actual issue of such a large influx of people who need services in such a short time.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Donald Trump promises 'large deportations' from Springfield days after debate