Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that he would revoke Temporary Protected Status for the Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, and deport them if he is reelected in November.
“You have to remove the people, and you have to bring them back to their own country. They are, in my opinion, it’s not legal,” Trump said in an interview with NewsNation.
Trump, asked if he would revoke the migrants’ Temporary Protected Status, said,
“Absolutely. I’d revoke it, and I’d bring them back to their country.”
The former president and his allies have continued to spread misinformation about Haitian migrants in the city of Springfield.
Many Haitians came into the country under a Biden-Harris administration parole program that gives permission to enter to vetted participants with US sponsors. And many have “Temporary Protected Status,” as CNN has previously reported, which shields them from deportation and allows them to live and work in the country for a limited period of time.
Some received that protection after the Biden-Harris administration expanded the number of Haitians eligible in June. Others have been living in the US with Temporary Protected Status since before the Biden-Harris administration.
Trump, pressed in the Wednesday interview on what would happen if Haiti refused to receive them, said: “They will,” without providing additional details.
“Well, they’re going to receive them, they’ll receive them. If I bring them back, they’re going to receive them,” Trump said.
During the Trump administration, the Department of Homeland Security was aggressive in ending a number of temporary protected status designations that had been on the books, in some cases, for decades.
Trump in recent weeks has spread debunked conspiracy theories about Haitian migrants eating pets in Springfield, including at last month’s presidential debate, as part of his efforts to stoke fears about immigrants and push his hardline immigration policy proposals, including mass deportations.
From the September 10 debate through September 20, Springfield received more than 35 threats of violence, including bomb threats, according to Springfield Mayor Rob Rue. The threats prompted evacuations of elementary schools and supermarkets, lockdowns of hospitals and a transition to remote learning at several local colleges.
Rue, Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine and other local officials have decried the rumors as false and destructive to the community. A staffer for Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate who helped to propel the misinformation, was told early last month by Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck that “there was no verifiable evidence or reports to show” that the rumors are true, CNN reported.
The city of Springfield notes on its website that approximately 12,000 to 15,000 immigrants live in Clark County — which has a population of roughly 136,000 — and that Haitian immigrants are there legally.
Haitian workers play a significant role in Springfield’s economy, filling much-needed jobs, the city has said. DeWine has acknowledged the city was having some issues adjusting to the influx of mostly Haitian immigrants, but he said in an interview last month they were working to deal with the issues and called the Haitian immigrants “positive influences” on the community.
CNN’s Jack Forrest, Daniel Dale, Danya Gainor, Catherine E. Shoichet, Elizabeth Wolfe, Melissa Alonso, Jeff Winter and Chelsea Bailey contributed to this report.
