Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio said Harris was more interested in calling people in Springfield, Ohio, “racists” than in “repealing open borders.”
During appearances on CNN, NBC and CBS Sunday morning shows, Vance was asked about recent controversy in Springfield, where residents have pointed to an increase in crime, unrest and car accidents since the COVID-19 pandemic due to a massive influx of about 20,000 Haitian immigrants into the small town of about 58,000 people.
Residents on the city council have alleged that Haitians are killing and eating ducks, geese, cats and dogs in the park, an unconfirmed claim that Vance has addressed on social media and that former President Trump repeated during last week’s presidential debate in Philadelphia.
“I trust my constituents more than the American media, who weren’t interested in what was going on in Springfield until we started sharing cat memes on the Internet. It’s shameful that the American media ignored this town,” Vance told NBC’s “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker. “And that’s the most important part. Kamala Harris’ open borders have led to higher housing costs in Springfield, higher crime rates, higher disease rates. They’ve brought 20,000 immigrants into a town of 40,000 people and created a lot of social problems.”
Welker said officials in Springfield and Dayton, Ohio, claim there is “no evidence” that migrants eat animals or pets in parks, and noted that Springfield was recently forced to close due to threats of violence. The NBC host also cited past comments made by Vance in 2016, when he accused Trump of scaring “the people I care about.”
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“This week in Springfield a building was shut down due to a bomb threat. Haitian immigrants say they fear for their lives. Senator, aren’t you doing the same thing you once called reprehensible?” Welker asked.
Senator J.D. Vance attends a charity day hosted by the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund at the BGC Group on September 11, 2024 in New York City. (Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images, courtesy of Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund)
“First of all, Kristen, we condemn any act of violence and any threat of violence. But, Kristen, the reason I’ve changed my mind about Donald Trump is actually completely highlighted by what’s going on in Springfield, because the media and the Kamala Harris campaign are calling the residents of Springfield racists,” Vance said. “They’re lying. They’re saying reports about immigrants eating geese are fake. And they’re completely ignoring the public health disaster that’s happening in Springfield right now.”
“Donald Trump is the only person who has put Springfield in the national spotlight and the only president who will fight for its residents, not only for their right to be safe in their community, but for their right to complain about what’s going on in their community,” Vance added. “It’s shameful that Kamala Harris has chosen to call people racist rather than listen to those complaints and try to improve their lives by reversing open borders.”
“We don’t blame Haitian immigrants for coming to Springfield,” he said. “We blame Kamala Harris for opening up the southern border and dropping 20,000 people into a small town in Ohio.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Harris’ campaign for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
During a heated exchange on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Vance said he would “fact-check” host Dana Bash’s failure to clarify why Haitians are in the United States “legally.”
A crowd watches as police investigate at Springfield City Hall after a bomb threat was made against the building in the early morning hours of Sept. 12, 2024. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)
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“You said all of these immigrants are in the country legally. They’re in the country through what’s called Temporary Protected Status. And then Kamala Harris waves her magic amnesty wand and takes people and gives them legal status,” Vance said. “It doesn’t mean they’re here legally. This is a damning indictment of her amnesty policies that have opened the border even further.”
In June, the Biden-Harris administration announced that about 300,000 Haitians already in the United States would be eligible to obtain temporary legal status that would allow them to remain and work in the country, after the Department of Homeland Security said it considered conditions in the war-torn Caribbean country too dangerous for Haitians to return home. The decision marks a significant expansion of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians who were in the United States on June 3, and will last until February 3, 2026. Anyone arriving after June 3 will not be eligible. Homeland Security also extended Temporary Protected Status for an estimated 200,000 Haitians who already had it.
On CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Vance also raised the issue of Temporary Protected Status when asked by host Margaret Brennan whether he would try to get federal aid from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.
Clark County Heritage Center in Springfield, Ohio, Wednesday, September 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)
“Margaret, the most important thing we can do to support Governor DeWine and the whole state of Ohio, and frankly the whole country, is to stop Kamala Harris’ open borders, and I’ve been fighting for two years for policies that would do just that. Margaret, you have to ask yourself why 20,000 Haitian immigrants were dumped into a small town in Ohio in just a few years,” Vance said.
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“The answer is that Kamala Harris implemented what’s called Temporary Protected Services for over 100,000 Haitian immigrants. She basically used a magic wand to grant amnesty to thousands of people who should never have been in this country, and now a small town in Ohio is dealing with the consequences,” the senator continued. “And Margaret, everyone listening, this is what Kamala Harris is going to do to every town in this country: overwhelm towns with immigrants, strain municipal budgets, watch infectious diseases rise. If Kamala Harris’ open border policies continue, what’s happening in Springfield will happen to every town and city in this country. We have to stop this. The American people are suffering because of what she’s done.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
