Former President Donald Trump, during a campaign stop in Springfield, Ohio, pledged sweeping deportations from the town, reiterating his hardline stance on immigration.

Trump’s remarks come after unfounded claims circulated by Republicans, including his running mate Senator JD Vance, falsely accusing Haitian immigrants of eating pets in the area.

“We will do large deportations from Springfield, Ohio, large deportations. We’re going to get these people out. We’re bringing them back to Venezuela,” Trump stated during the rally, despite the lack of evidence to support these claims.

Springfield, located in Clark County, has an estimated immigrant population of between 12,000 to 15,000, according to the city’s official website.

However, the city does not specify the countries of origin of these immigrants. The website also clarifies that Haitian immigrants in the area are legally present under the Immigration Parole Progra

Trump further stoked fear, suggesting that criminals from Venezuela were among those entering the United States.

“They emptied their jails in Venezuela, emptied their criminals, emptied the nests. They call them ‘nests of bad people.’ They’re all now in the United States, and they’re taking over cities. It’s like an invasion from within and we’re gonna have the largest deportation in the history of our country. And we’re gonna start with Springfield and Aurora,” Trump added.

CNN reports that throughout his campaign, Trump has promised to implement the largest deportation of undocumented immigrants in U.S. history.

He warned that the immigration situation would worsen, stating, “It’s going to get worse at a level like nobody’s ever seen before,” echoing his earlier calls for stringent border control and deportation measures.

The comments sparked concern among immigrant rights advocates, who pointed out the potential harm in spreading unverified information and the threat such rhetoric poses to vulnerable immigrant communities.