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It’s not a secret that Donald Trump has falsely accused Haitian immigrants in Ohio of abducting and eating household pets. But just as notably, the former president and his running mate have repeatedly told the public that those same immigrants entered the United States illegally.
That’s a lie, too. As NBC News reported over the weekend, even Ohio’s Republican governor, Mike DeWine, has explained that “many of the Haitian immigrants in Springfield went there legally under federal programs as refugees who fled political turmoil in their country and said they have helped boost the state’s economy as workers.”
As a Washington Post report noted, the GOP’s 2024 nominee has nevertheless opened the door to “large deportations.”
Former president Donald Trump vowed to conduct “large deportations” of migrants from the United States, starting in Springfield, Ohio, the target of false claims his ticket has pushed about Haitian immigrants eating pets.
“I can say this,” the Republican said at a press conference in California on Friday, “we will do large deportations from Springfield, Ohio. Large deportations. We’re gonna get these people out. We’re bringing ‘em back to Venezuela.” Trump added that he, in a second term, would launch “the largest deportation in the history of our country,” and Springfield would be one of the first communities he’d target.
Right off the bat, let’s acknowledge the single most important detail: The Haitian immigrants — the people Trump and Vance have falsely accused of being pet-eating, disease-ridden thieves — entered the country legally, suggesting that the GOP nominee is open to deporting legal immigrants.
It’s also worth pausing to wonder why Trump intends to send Haitian immigrants to Venezuela. (The two countries have very little in common. They’re not even part of the same continent.)
But just as notable is the broader political context surrounding the former president’s rhetoric.
As part of his 2024 candidacy, Trump has targeted migrants with dehumanizing rhetoric that echoes Adolf Hitler, all while promising to create militarized mass deportations and detention camps if voters reward him with a second term. He’s even talked about putting migrants into rings to fight for Americans’ entertainment.
It’s against this backdrop that Republican National Convention attendees waved professionally made “MASS DEPORTATIONS NOW!” signs, while chanting “Send them back” on the convention floor.
As of late last week, deporting legal immigrants is apparently on the table in a second Trump administration, too, all of which reminded me of a New York Times report published in July about Latino voters and their perceptions of the Republican’s plans:
Many [Latino voters the Times spoke to were] unfamiliar with Mr. Trump’s platform, including his plans to round up undocumented people on a mass scale and to detain them in camps pending their deportation. Many Latino Republicans and independents who had heard of such campaign pledges did not believe that Mr. Trump would be able to fulfill his promises.
In other words, these pro-immigrant voters are simply counting on Trump breaking his campaign promises. As of last week, there appeared to be another such anti-immigrant promise to overlook.