The city of Springfield, Ohio, had roughly 60,000 residents as of 2022. In the two years since then, thousands of migrants have arrived, mostly from Haiti. Although some have welcomed the new neighbors, others have lamented the change and said it has taken a toll on city resources.

The debate had been a quiet one, largely confined to the residents who make up the community. But concerns over their arrival spilled into the spotlight this past week after former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), amplified the abduction claims.

City officials have stressed that there is no evidence to support the claims that migrants are killing neighborhood animals, but Trump helped bring the rumors to national attention when he vowed to “find” those perpetrating the supposed abductions during his Tuesday debate against Vice President Kamala Harris.

Sophia Pierrelus, a Haitian immigrant who has lived in the United States for years and runs a Facebook page that helps connect and assist Haitian immigrants in Springfield, said on Wednesday that she feels under attack.

“Right now, the Haitian community, including myself, are a target,” Pierrelus said in a video posted to the page’s 3,200 followers. “Haitian people, we don’t eat dogs, by the way. And like so many other ethnicities I’ve seen eating frogs, dogs, and other stuff, we do not even care or even speculate about these type of things. Because every culture has their own ways of eating the type of food in their cultures.”

The southern border crisis

In the 44 months since President Joe Biden assumed office, his administration has processed an unprecedented number of immigrants through irregular means, including a program that gives them temporary protected status.

Amid worsening chaos and gang rule in Haiti, many have fled to the United States but also South America, Central America, and Mexico.

Since February 2021, more than 470,000 Haitian migrants have been encountered at the border, but only 80,000 of them came through illegally. The remainder, 390,000, were intercepted at ports of entry, including an unspecified number who applied from abroad to be paroled into the country through a Biden-Harris administration program that Republicans have criticized as circumventing congressional authority.

The Haitian migrants, like all others, have resettled across the country as they wait for their asylum and immigration court dates.

An influx of workers prompts uncertainty

Springfield is 1,450 miles, or a 22-hour drive, from the U.S.-Mexico border. Around 2022, the city began to draw new residents following the opening of a plant for a Japanese auto parts manufacturer, Topre, in addition to food service and logistics companies in recent years.

A shortage of entry-level and blue-collar workers made the town a prime place for newcomers, particularly given its low cost of living compared to big cities.

“The growth in our workforce population has supported the expansion of local businesses, contributing to the stabilization of our local economy,” said Bryan Heck, city manager, in a statement issued Wednesday afternoon.

Since travel restrictions were lifted after the pandemic, between 15,000 and 20,000 Haitians are estimated to have settled in Springfield, according to the latest city count.

The internal immigration debate among residents reached a breaking point last summer when a boy was killed in an incident that involved a Haitian man.

The school bus carrying Aiden Clark, 11, collided with a minivan that had gone over the dividing line in the road. The minivan driver was identified as a 36-year-old immigrant from Haiti, Hermanio Joseph. Joseph has since been sentenced to nine to 13 1/2 years in prison for first-degree felony involuntary manslaughter and fourth-degree felony vehicular homicide.

The incident stoked anger toward the migrants, a reality Clark’s father addressed in Tuesday remarks aimed at Trump and Vance.

“My son, Aiden Clark, was not murdered. He was accidentally killed by an immigrant from Haiti,” said Clark’s father in a city hall forum.

“They can vomit all the hate they want about illegal immigrants, the border crisis, and even untrue claims about fluffy pets being ravaged and eaten by community members,” he added. “However, they are not allowed, nor have they ever been allowed, to mention Aiden Clark of Springfield, Ohio.”

Nathan Clark — the father of 11-year-old Aiden Clark, who was killed in a car accident in Springfield, Ohio — tells JD Vance and Donald Trump to stop using his son’s name and the city of Springfield to demonize Haitian immigrants. “This needs to stop now!” pic.twitter.com/3J8FtZ82Ts

— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) September 11, 2024

Enter J.D. Vance

In July, Trump announced Vance, an Ohioan, as his running mate.

Days before the announcement, Vance addressed the National Conservatism Conference, where he spoke about a town that had been “overwhelmed” by Haitian immigrants. That town was Springfield.

“You don’t have to believe, of course, that the 20,000, at least most of the 20,000 newcomers, are bad people,” Vance said.

That same month, Vance was copied on a letter to his fellow Senate colleagues from Springfield’s city manager. The letter had petitioned lawmakers for assistance with housing the growing number of people in town.

It is not clear where the rumors about animal abductions originated. CBS News cited a Facebook post in which a family found their cat hanging from a branch near the home of Haitian residents, while on Tuesday, the Federalist obtained an Aug. 26 phone call to police in which a resident reported that four Haitian migrants were carrying geese.

Vance then began earlier this week to post statements on social media claiming that “people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country.”

Months ago, I raised the issue of Haitian illegal immigrants draining social services and generally causing chaos all over Springfield, Ohio.

Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country. Where is our border czar? pic.twitter.com/rf0EDIeI5i

— JD Vance (@JDVance) September 9, 2024

On Tuesday evening, while speaking at a debate against Harris, Trump doubled down on Vance’s statements.

“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating — they’re eating the pets of the people that live there,” Trump said. “What they have done to our country by allowing these millions and millions of people to come into our country and looking for — it’s happening in the towns all over the United States.”

ABC News debate co-host David Muir responded that the city manager of Springfield has denied the reports that any animals were being “harmed, injured, or abused” by migrants who had arrived there after entering the country.

“Well, I’ve seen people on television. The people on television say, ‘My dog was taken and used for food,’” said Trump. “We’ll find out.”

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Heck responded Wednesday afternoon without specifically citing the allegations at hand.

“It is disappointing that some of the narratives surrounding our city has been skewed by misinformation circulating on social media and further amplified by political rhetoric in the current highly charged presidential election cycle,” Heck said.