Senator JD Vance, former President Donald Trump’s running mate for the 2024 presidential election, continues to fuel the firestorm surrounding Springfield, Ohio with false claims about Haitian migrants.

Vance first spread unsubstantiated rumors that Haitian migrants were eating pets on September 9, although one of his staffers was informed by a city official the same day that such comments were “unfounded.”

Since then, he has continued to attack the Haitian population, labelling them “illegal” despite their legally protected status and accusing them of spreading infectious diseases in the community.

Ohio state officials, including Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, have pushed back on some of Vance’s comments as they grapple with the fallout from the threats and other safety issues. Springfield Mayor Rob Rue issued temporary emergency powers Thursday to ensure residents’ safety amid the dangers posed by the spotlight on the area.

Here’s a closer look at Trump’s running mate’s claims.

Overall, communicable diseases have declined

According to health records for Clark County, which includes Springfield but has a total population of about 138,000, the total number of reportable cases of infectious diseases declined between 2022 and 2023.

Clark County Health Officer Chris Cook told ABC News in an email that preliminary total reportable infectious disease numbers for 2024 are “similar to last year.”

But on social media, Vance claims there is a “massive increase” in infectious diseases. Sometimes he explicitly refers to the increase in HIV and tuberculosis.

County records show that the number of vaccine-preventable diseases, non-COVID infectious disease cases, and sexually transmitted infections were all lower in 2023 than during the Trump administration.

The number of tuberculosis cases, which Vance specifically cited, increased by one across Clark County between 2022 and 2023. In 2022, the county reported three tuberculosis cases, compared to four cases last year. Preliminary data for the first half of 2024 showed four tuberculosis cases.

The situation is similar with HIV: The number of newly diagnosed cases increased by one from 12 in 2021 to 13 in 2022. The numbers for 2023 and 2024 have not yet been finalized, but according to preliminary data, the county reports 29 cases in 2023 and 26 cases from January to June of this year.

“Within that total number of reportable infectious diseases, you will find that in Clark County, like any other population, there is an upward trend for some diseases and a downward trend for some diseases,” Cook said.

However, authorities noted some differences in vaccinations between Haitian migrants and U.S. citizens (Haiti does not have the same access to vaccinations as the U.S.) and acknowledged that the influx of 12,000 to 15,000 migrants into the city is putting a strain on health resources.

Governor Mike DeWine announced $2.5 million for Springfield earlier this month to improve access to primary care. In the press release, DeWine said the influx of migrants has had a “significant impact on local primary care providers due to increased patient volumes and the need for more translation services.”

Haitian migrants are not “illegal aliens”

At a campaign rally in North Carolina, Vance repeatedly portrayed Haitian migrants not only in Springfield but across the country as having been brought to the United States illegally by Vice President Kamala Harris. He said they would be deported under a Trump-Vance administration.

Discussing the processes used to bring many Haitian migrants to the U.S. or allow them to stay temporarily – a humanitarian parole program called CHNV and the one called Temporary Protected Status – Vance claimed Harris had used “two programs to wave a magic wand and say we’re not going to deport these people here.”

“If Kamala Harris waves the magic wand on illegality and says these people are now here legally, I will still call them illegal aliens,” Vance said.

TPS is a program that began in 1990 and was expanded to Haitian migrants in 2010 under then-President Barack Obama after a devastating earthquake. The protections were extended under the Trump administration by the Department of Homeland Security, though it later tried to end the protections, leading to legal challenges. Biden most recently extended TPS last June through February 3, 2026.

Once a migrant is granted TPS authorization, they are protected from deportation and allowed to work temporarily in the U.S. However, this does not directly lead to a green card or permanent residency status in the U.S., says immigration attorney David Leopold.

“We know that the Haitians living in Springfield are legal. They came to Springfield to work. Ohio is on the move, and Springfield has seen a big resurgence with many companies moving in. These Haitians have come to work for these companies,” DeWine said on ABC’s “This Week.”

As for Vance’s promise to deport the migrants, such a move would potentially face insurmountable legal hurdles. Trump has long said he would deport immigrants living in the U.S. without legal permission. That policy would inevitably face its own challenges, but it is different from trying to deport protected migrants.

Vance has repeatedly dodged questions about how he would deport legal immigrants and what negative impact this might have on the local economy.

Leopold said that a Trump-Vance administration could theoretically try again to change the TPS status for Haitian migrants, which would cause them to lose their protected status and potentially be deported, but that would be far from an easy measure to implement. Trump failed to change the TPS status in his first administration because they could not prove that political and social instability in Haiti had changed enough to warrant such a move.

“In most cases, they have not done so because they need to determine that the situation in that country has changed or improved,” Leopold said. “This law is protected and requires the Department of Homeland Security to make specific findings of fact.”

Officials are concerned about traffic accidents, but not violent crime

Vance also posted on social media that “crime” has increased in Springfield. He did not elaborate on which specific crimes he was referring to in his post.

But at his event in North Carolina this week, he spoke specifically about driving and traffic issues.

“In the city of Springfield, Ohio, which I am honored to represent, we have heard from many residents that they don’t even want to drive in certain parts of the city because illegal immigrants have entered there and made the roads too unsafe to drive on,” Vance said.

Officials have expressed concern about traffic enforcement, with Springfield’s mayor telling ABC News last week that the “big concern” in the community is the increase in traffic accidents and incidents.

DeWine has directed the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) to assist local police with traffic enforcement. Last week, OSHP began monitoring the roads with the highest accident rates. In addition, the state is providing driving simulators and offering driver education courses to the Haitian population.

One example Vance and other Republicans cite is the death of Aiden Clark, an 11-year-old who died in a bus crash caused by a Haitian immigrant. The Haitian immigrant had been convicted of manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter. Vance said Clark was “murdered.” Clark’s parents have spoken out against using their son’s death for “political purposes,” saying their son “was not murdered. He was accidentally killed by an immigrant from Haiti.”

ABC News has contacted Springfield police for comment.

In the wake of the controversy, no city official has publicly expressed concern about a sharp increase in violent crime due to the influx of migrants.

In fact, the city stated on its website in an immigration FAQ page: “In our community, Haitians are more likely to be victims of crime than perpetrators. Clark County Jail data shows that there are 199 inmates in our county jail this week. Two of them are Haitian. That’s 1% (as of September 8).”

According to official figures, approximately 12,000 to 15,000 Haitians have moved legally to Springfield in recent years, resulting in a population increase of approximately 25 percent.

According to crime data from the Ohio Incident-Based Reporting System, reported violent crimes in Springfield increased only 1.0% between 2022 and 2023.

In the first six months of this year, 429 cases of violent crime were reported in Springfield, up 13% from the same period in 2023, largely due to an increase in aggravated assault. Murders and rapes decreased in the first half of 2024 compared to the same time in 2023.

ABC News’ Armando Garcia, Jeremy Edwards and Hannah Demissie contributed to this report.