Trump announces he will visit Springfield, the city embroiled in Haitian immigrant controversy

Former President Donald Trump promised during a rally in New York that he will travel in the next two weeks to Springfield, Ohio, following claims he and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), made about Haitian immigrants allegedly "eating pets" in the city.

Trump's claims, which were made during the presidential debate with Kamala Harris, have raised a strong national controversy, being debunked by Ohio authorities, who reported that there are no "credible" allegations about Haitian immigrants eating pets of local citizens.

The former president also announced that he will visit the city of Aurora, Colorado, where a Venezuelan gang allegedly stormed a building that grabbed national attention for several weeks, prompting critical comments from conservative personalities and politicians.

"I’m going to go there in the next two weeks. I’m going to Springfield, and I’m going to Aurora," Trump said. "You may never see me again, but that’s OK. Gotta do what I gotta do. Whatever happened to Trump? Well, he never got out of Springfield."

Springfield city administrator Bryan Heck said Trump's comments about Haitians distract from the real issues facing the city, which has taken in a very high number of immigrants and is seeing its resources get tighter and tighter, especially housing and health care.

Springfield's mayor, Republican Rob Rue, has previously weighed in on Trump's potential visit, saying it would be an "extreme strain on our resources."

"So it’d be fine with me if they decided not to make that visit," the mayor sentenced.

According to public data, Springfield, a city of 59,000 people, has received about 15,000 Haitian immigrants since 2020. Faced with such a situation, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine promised to send law enforcement and allocate additional resources in health care to address the increase of immigrants from this country.