Vance slams Harris focus on calling Springfield, Ohio, residents 'racist' instead of 'undoing her open border'

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Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, said Vice President Harris is more focused on calling the residents of Springfield, Ohio, "racist" than "undoing her open border." 

While making the rounds on CNN, NBC and CBS Sunday morning shows, Vance was confronted about recent controversy in Springfield, where residents have been pointing to an uptick in crime, mayhem and car crashes due to the massive influx of roughly 20,000 Haitian immigrants since the COVID-19 pandemic into a small town of approximately 58,000 people. 

Residents at city council meetings have alleged that Haitians are killing and eating ducks and geese in parks, as well as pet cats and dogs, unverified allegations that Vance has referenced on social media and former President Trump repeated during the Philadelphia presidential debate last week. 

"I trust my constituents more than I do the American media that has shown no interest in what's happened in Springfield until we started sharing cat memes on the Internet, which is disgraceful that the American media ignored this town," Vance told NBC "Meet the Press" host Kristen Welker. "And that's the most important part, Kamala Harris' open border, Kristen, has led to skyrocketing housing costs in Springfield, rising rates of crime, rising rates of communicable diseases. They have dropped 20,000 immigrants into a town of 40,000, and it's caused a host of social problems."

Welker cited officials in Springfield and Dayton, Ohio, as claiming there is "no evidence" of immigrants eating park animals or pets, and noted recent threats of violence forcing closures in Springfield. The NBC host also quoted Vance's past comments from 2016 accusing Trump of making "people I care about" afraid. 

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"This week in Springfield, buildings were closed because of bomb threats. Haitian immigrants say they are afraid for their lives. Are you not doing the very thing you once called reprehensible, Senator?" Welker asked.

Sen. JD Vance attends Charity Day hosted by the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund at BGC Group on Sept. 11, 2024, in New York City. (Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for The Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund)

"First of all, Kristen, we condemn all acts of violence and all threats of violence. But, Kristen, the reason that I changed my mind on Donald Trump is actually perfectly highlighted by what's going on in Springfield, because the media and the Kamala Harris campaign, they've been calling the residents of Springfield racist," Vance said. "They've been lying about them. They've been saying that they make up these reports of migrants eating geese. And they completely ignored the public health disaster that is unfolding in Springfield at this very minute." 

"Donald Trump is the only person who brought Springfield to national attention and is the only president who's going to fight for the residents, not just their right to live safely in their communities, but for their right to complain about what's going on in their own community," Vance added. "I think it's disgraceful that Kamala Harris has heard these complaints, has decided to call people racist instead of actually trying to make their lives better by undoing her open border." 

"We don't blame the Haitian migrants for coming to Springfield," he said. "We blame Kamala Harris for opening the American southern border and inviting 20,000 people to get dropped in a small Ohio town." 

Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment but did not immediately hear back. 

During a heated exchange on CNN's "State of the Union," Vance said he would "fact check" host Dana Bash for failing to clarify how the Haitians were in the United States "legally." 

People watch as police investigate at Springfield City Hall after bomb threats were made against buildings earlier in the day on Sept. 12, 2024. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)

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"You said that all of these migrants are in the country legally. They are in the country through what's called temporary protective status. That is when Kamala Harris waved a magic amnesty wand, taking people and giving them legal status," Vance said. "That is not to say that they're here legally. That is a terrible indictment of her amnesty policies that have further opened the border." 

In June, the Biden-Harris administration announced that about 300,000 Haitians already in the United States will now be eligible for temporary legal status allowing them to remain in the U.S. and work because Homeland Security said conditions in the strife-torn Caribbean nation are considered unsafe for them to return. The decision marks a major expansion of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians who were in the United States on June 3 and will last until Feb. 3, 2026. Anyone arriving after June 3 would not qualify. DHS also extended the Temporary Protected Status of an estimated 200,000 Haitians who already had it.

On CBS' "Face the Nation," Vance also brought up the subject of temporary protected status when asked by host Margaret Brennan if he would work to get Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine federal assistance. 

Heritage Center of Clark County in Springfield, Ohio, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

"The most important thing that we can do to assist Gov. DeWine and the whole state of Ohio, and frankly, the whole country, Margaret, is to stop Kamala Harris' open border. And for two years, I've been fighting for policies that do exactly that. You have to ask yourself, why have these 20,000 Haitian migrants been dropped into a small Ohio town in just a few years, Margaret?" Vance said. 

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"And the answer is because Kamala Harris implemented what's called temporary protective service for over 100,000 Haitian migrants. She basically, with a magic wand, granted amnesty to thousands of people who shouldn't have been in this country, and now a small Ohio town is dealing with the consequences," the senator continued. "And to anybody listening, Margaret, this is what Kamala Harris wants to do to every town in this country. Overwhelm them with migration, stress their municipal budgets, see communicable diseases on the rise. What is happening in Springfield is coming to every town and city in this country if Kamala Harris's open border policies are allowed to continue. We've got to stop this. American citizens are suffering because of what she's done."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.