Former President Donald Trump announced plans on Friday for mass deportations of undocumented immigrants if he is re-elected, with Springfield, Ohio, and Aurora, Colorado, being the first cities targeted.
Trump’s pledge came during a press conference at Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles, where he continued to promote debunked conspiracy theories about immigrants. During the recent presidential debate with Vice President Harris, Trump reiterated these unfounded claims.
“We’re going to have the largest deportation in the history of our country,” Trump stated. “And we’re going to start with Springfield and Aurora.” He hinted that campaign events might be held in one or both cities.
During the debate, Trump repeated baseless accusations, such as Haitian immigrants in Springfield harming family pets and Venezuelan gang activity dominating Aurora. “They’re taking over the town, taking over buildings,” he claimed, adding that migrants were “destroying our country.”
Local officials in both Springfield and Aurora quickly rejected Trump’s allegations. Aurora’s Mayor Mike Coffman and City Council member Danielle Jurinsky emphasized in a joint statement that the prison gang Trump referred to had not “taken over” the city. Similarly, Springfield law enforcement denied any credible reports of pets being harmed by immigrants.
Trump’s call for mass deportations was met with sharp criticism from immigrant rights organizations. Gladis Ibarra, co-executive director of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, condemned Trump’s rhetoric as “dangerous” and “dishonest,” accusing him of using immigrant communities as “political pawns.”
“We will not let immigrants be demonized or ripped from our communities,” Ibarra stated.
