Trump revives baseless claims about Haitian migrants in Ohio

President Donald Trump revived unfounded claims regarding Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, during a campaign rally in Youngstown on Oct. 12. Trump suggested he was correct in previous 2024 allegations that Haitian migrants were eating pets, though he provided no evidence for the claim. He stated that 35,000 people from Haiti were brought into the area and that the situation had not worked out well.

Dylan Corbett, executive director of the Hope Border Institute, noted that these previous false claims caused bomb threats at schools and fear within Haitian families. Local officials reported that such claims prompted hoaxes and bomb threats in the city. The Haitian population is described as overwhelmingly Christian, with an estimated a third to half identifying as Catholics.

During the 2024 campaign, these claims were disputed by Republican officials at both the state and local levels in Ohio. In 2025, the City of Springfield filed a lawsuit against the neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe, alleging the group was responsible for inciting harassment and intimidation.