Trump says arrival of Haitians in Ohio “damaged the city”

President Donald Trump claimed that the arrival of Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, had damaged the city during a rally aimed at supporting Republican Sen. Jon Husted’s reelection campaign. Trump defended his administration’s immigration policies and celebrated what he described as Haitians leaving the community.

Trump linked Springfield’s Haitian population to his broader criticism of immigration, repeating a debunked claim that Haitian immigrants were eating local pets. The allegation gained attention during the 2024 presidential debate, but it was based on a Facebook post whose author later deleted it and apologized, saying she had no evidence to support the claim.

The Trump administration ended a program that had allowed more than 350,000 Haitians to remain legally in the United States. Springfield, a city of approximately 60,000 residents, has received an estimated 15,000 Haitian immigrants in recent years.

During the rally, Trump said the city’s original residents were “getting their town back.” He also made disparaging remarks about Somali immigrants, drawing renewed attention to his administration’s restrictions on immigration and its rhetoric about Black immigrant communities.

The remarks came as Republicans face competitive races in Ohio ahead of the midterm elections. Trump’s visit was intended to support Husted, who faces a challenge from Democrat Sherrod Brown in the Senate contest.