Former President Donald Trump vowed in an interview Wednesday to revoke the legal status of Haitian migrants living in Springfield, Ohio, and deport them. 

Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, have amplified false claims that the migrants were stealing and eating the pets of local residents.

They have also incorrectly stated that the Haitian migrants are in the United States illegally. City and state officials have insisted the migrants have a legal basis to be in the U.S. under the Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, program. The program grants people whose home countries are considered unsafe — due to armed conflicts, environmental disasters or other extraordinary conditions — the temporary right to live and work in the U.S. Despite that, Trump and Vance have said they personally consider the Springfield migrants to be here illegally. 

“You have to remove the people, and you have to bring them back to their own country,” Trump said in an interview with NewsNation. “They are, in my opinion, it's not legal.”

Trump, who has promised mass deportations of millions of undocumented immigrants if he’s elected, argued Springfield has become “overrun” with migrants.

“You had a beautiful, safe community,” the former president said. “Everyone's in love with everybody. Everything was nice. It was like a picture community. And all of a sudden, in a short period of time, they have 32,000 more people in there. It doesn't work.”

The City of Springfield’s website puts the number much lower, estimating 12,000 to 15,000 migrants are living in Clark County, which also includes other communities. 

While the city acknowledges the influx of new residents has strained resources, it also says the migrants are working “in various industries that are in great need of workers.” The Haitian migrants were not placed by the federal government in Springfield but instead have chosen to live there, likely because of its relatively low cost of living and job opportunities, the city says.

“These Haitians came in to work for these companies,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, said last month. “What the companies tell us is that they are very good workers. They’re very happy to have them there. And, frankly, that’s helped the economy.”

Temporary Legal Status was created in legislation passed by Congress in 1990. Haiti has been among the countries included in the program since a 2010 earthquake killed at least 220,000 people there. The country also has been plagued by pervasive gang violence. 

During his presidency, Trump attempted to end TPS for 400,000 migrants. His efforts, however, became entangled in court challenges. The Biden administration extended TPS for all countries, ending Trump’s plan. Protections for Haitian migrants are set to expire in February 2026 but could be extended again.

Asked what he’d do if Haiti refused to welcome the migrants back, Trump told NewsNation: “They'll receive them. If I bring them back, they're going to receive them.”