Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance said “Kamala Harris’ open border” has “destroyed” the lives of American citizens in Springfield, Ohio, before his microphone was cut off by debate moderators.
In Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate on CBS, Vance claimed that undocumented immigrants are driving up housing prices and overwhelming local schools across the country at the expense of American citizens.
“In Springfield, Ohio, and in communities across the country, you have schools that are overwhelmed, you have hospitals that are overwhelmed, you have housing that is completely unaffordable because we have brought in millions of people as illegal immigrants to compete with Americans for scarce housing,” the Ohio senator said.
Springfield has been at the center of a national debate over immigration since former President Donald Trump claimed in his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris last month that Haitian immigrants were eating their neighbors’ cats and dogs. Local officials said they had “no credible reports” that this would actually happen.
Vance, who initially made the claim days before Trump expanded on it, did not repeat it during the vice presidential debate.
But speaking to Tim Walz, Minnesota’s Democratic governor, Vance said undocumented immigrants are inflicting a major toll on Americans.
“The people I worry about most are the American citizens whose lives have been destroyed by Kamala Harris’ open border. It’s a shame,” Vance said.
The influx of migrants into Springfield has strained some local resources in the city. But most Haitian migrants are there legally, and local officials have vigorously challenged Trump and Vance’s portrayal of the city.
Local RepublicanS such as Mayor Rob Rue and Governor Mike DeWine have pushed back on Trump and Vance’s claims, saying the Haitian migrants are looking for jobs, that they are there legally and that they have become part of the community.
Trump fired Rue and other local officials.
“The mayor of the city, I don’t know him, but he seems like a nice guy, but he … doesn’t want to say anything bad. He wants to be politically correct,” Trump said at a news conference. Tuesday in Milwaukee.
During Tuesday’s debate, things around Springfield became heated after CBS News moderators Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan intervened and noted that the Haitian immigrants in Springfield have legal status before attempting to move on.
Vance objected, talking over the moderators and preventing them from asking their next question.
‘The rules were that you were not allowed to do a fact check. And since you’re fact-checking me,” Vance said, “I think it’s important to say what’s going on.”
Vance made an argument as to why the Haitian migrants should not be considered legal because their protected status was determined by the federal government after they arrived in the US. In recent meetings, Vance has said his interpretation of the law means they technically immigrated to the US. illegal.
Walz jumped in to add his own fact check. But both were then cut off when their microphones were muted.
The moderators had warned at the start of the debate that they reserved the right to turn off the microphones at any time to enforce debate rules.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
