Springfield found itself in the national spotlight for the second time during the 2024 presidential election.
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Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz met Tuesday night in the first and only vice presidential debate.
As previously reported by News center 7Springfield is in the national spotlight because of the influx of Haitian migrants into the city and former President Donald Trump’s comments during his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris.
News Center 7 has been reporting continuously on the Haitian migrants in Springfield and the response to comments from Trump and JD Vance.
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Springfield was at the center of the national immigration debate after false claims surfaced that Haitian migrants in the city were eating neighborhood pets. City and state leaders said there are no credible or detailed reports of pets being kidnapped or eaten News center 7 previously reported.
Walz accused both Vance and Trump on Tuesday night of villainizing immigrants in Vance’s home state. He added that Governor Mike DeWine had to send additional law enforcement officers to ensure the safety of the city’s schools after Vance tweeted about it and Trump spoke about it.
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“This is what happens when you don’t want to solve it [immigration],” Walz said. “You’re demonizing it. And we saw this – Senator Vance, and it blows my mind about this, as we talked about it and said, “I’m going to create stories to draw attention to this.” That defamed a lot of people who worked legally in the Springfield community.”
Vance said the 15,000 Haitians in Springfield had created housing, economic and other problems that the Biden-Harris administration ignored.
“He’s very concerned about the things I said about Springfield,” Vance said. “Look, in Springfield, Ohio, and in communities all over this county, 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 so that illegal immigrants can compete with Americans for scarce houses.”
>>RELATED: New details discovered about viral goose photo as Springfield immigration wave makes national news
The debate moderators pointed out that the Haitians living there had legal status, but Vance said the moderators would not do fact-checking. As he continued, the moderators tried to continue, but his microphone was turned off and neither man could be heard.
Other topics to be discussed Tuesday evening include Iran, abortion and gun control.
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