Democrats want DeWine to detail economic impact of false claims about Springfield migrants

Ohio Democrats want Gov. Mike DeWine to work with Springfield officials to account for the economic consequences of claims made by Ohio Sen. JD Vance and former President Donald Trump about Haitian immigrants that lead to an increase in threats to the community.

Springfield schools and government buildings received dozens of bomb threats after Vance and Trump repeated claims without evidence on national television about Haitian immigrants eating dogs and cats.

Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, Rep. Willis Blackshear, D-Dayton, and Rep. Adam Miller, D-Columbus signed a letter to DeWine thanking him for debunking the claims about Springfield and urging him to account for the "economic harm" the city faced.

"The spread of these fabrications led to state and local taxpayer resources being mobilized to address the tensions and the challenges that followed," the Democrats said in the letter. "It is concerning that Ohioans will have to bear the financial and social costs of addressing the disruptions caused by these baseless claims."

The Democrats said they believe the city, Clark County and Ohio suffered millions of dollars in economic damages due to Trump and Vance's comments.

"In Springfield, they're eating the dogs, the people that came in," Trump said during last month's presidential debate with Vice President Kamala Harris. "They're eating the cats. They're eating the pets of the people that live there. This is what's happening in our country, and it's a shame."

Springfield's mayor and city manager repeatedly said there was no evidence of immigrants eating residents' pets and asked Trump and Vance to dial down their rhetoric.

Vance then claimed the immigrants were in Springfield illegally during the vice presidential debate on Oct. 1. Springfield saw an estimated 15,000 Haitian immigrants with legal, temporary protected status arrive in recent years.

Erin Glynn is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Democrats want DeWine to detail economic impact of false claims about Springfield migrants