COLUMBUS, Ohio — City officials in Springfield are refuting unsupported claims about migrants committing crimes that went viral after U.S. Sen. JD Vance and other conservative political influencers amplified them via social media over the weekend.
Through a statement issued by his office, the Springfield city manager’s office said Monday “there have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.”
“Additionally, there have been no verified instances of immigrants engaging in illegal activities such as squatting or littering in front of residents’ homes. Furthermore, no reports have been made regarding members of the immigrant community deliberately disrupting traffic,” the statement read.
The city issued the statement after cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer requested an interview with City Manager Bryan Heck.
The claims circulated quickly in right-wing social media circles as Republicans in Ohio and around the country try to make illegal immigration a cornerstone campaign issue in November. Two Republican candidates for Ohio governor in 2026 were among those to reference Springfield’s surge in Haitian migrants in statements on Monday.
On Monday, Vance posted on X about a recent surge in Haitian immigrants in Springfield, a city about an hour west of Columbus. Vance cited “reports” that “people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country.”
Former President Donald Trump’s campaign issued a statement Monday that cited, in part, a report from the Daily Mail, a British tabloid. The Daily Mail in turn cited an unsupported statement during a city commission meeting from a city resident who described Haitian immigrants killing ducks in the park. Others cited an anonymous Facebook post that described a “neighbor’s daughter’s friend” who discovered their cat had been strung up. Some users posted video from an unrelated incident in Canton, which is about 180 miles from Springfield, last month in which a woman was arrested after being found eating a cat.
The posts accompany increasing national interest in the situation in Springfield and Republicans aims to leverage concerns about illegal immigration as a political issue. City officials estimate 12,000 to 15,000 immigrants, many of which are from Haiti, have moved to the city of roughly 58,000 people in recent years. In a front-page story last week, The New York Times profiled the benefits, problems and community tensions that have resulted from the influx of residents to the city, which previously had been steadily losing population since the 1960s. The residents are there legally under a federal refugee program that allows them to stay in the United States through February 2026 while they seek a work permit.
Two Ohio Republicans who are positioning to run for governor in Ohio in 2026 released lengthy statements on Monday about the situation in Springfield.
Attorney General Dave Yost issued an open-ended statement vowing to get the situation in front of a federal judge. He cited locals complaining of “migrants causing car crashes, stealing property – including livestock, squatting in homes and killing wildlife for food.”
“The problem is not migrants, it is way, way too many migrants in a short period of time,” Yost said. “The problem is a massive increase in the population without any communication or assistance from the federal government.”
Lt. Gov. Jon Husted in a series of social media posts said he visited Springfield last week. He described problems with highway safety signs because of a language barrier and other issues but avoiding references to animals being killed or eaten.
“What is happening in Springfield and across America is a direct result of the Biden-Harris immigration policy,” Husted said. “I hope that in the upcoming debate the media will ask Kamala Harris what people in communities like Springfield across this country are supposed to do about the mess she and the Biden Administration created?
Andrew Tobias covers state politics and government for cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer
