SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy hosted what he called an open and honest conversation with the greater Springfield community on Thursday evening.

Hundreds of attendees gathered for the town hall at Bushnell Events Center, with some even getting turned away due to a lack of available space.

“My goal isn’t to preach to the community, my goal is to share my perspective as honestly as I can,” Ramaswamy said.

“Where’d they come from? How’d they get there? How’d they come to this town that isn’t asking for all this extra help?” Mark Irwin, an Ohio resident, said.

People like Irwin said they don’t blame the immigrants who came to the U.S. for a better life, but more answers are needed as far as the problem this community now faces.

“I don’t actually blame any of the 70,000 people in Springfield for the mess in Springfield. Most of the Haitians who are here, at least our own government told them that they’re actually allowed to be here. I blame the government for that, but that’s a separate issue of legal immigration,” Ramaswamy said.

Irwin added, in order to have these conversations, people need to be honest about the reality of these circumstances.

“That’s the thing you hear people say, they’re taking our jobs – well did you want the job? They’re coming in and doing a lot of jobs we don’t want to do, and we have to be honest about that,” Irwin said.

Ramaswamy said growing up in Ohio an hour from Springfield, he decided to hold the event because he wants to get involved whenever something in his backyard is getting national attention.

Immigration seemed to be the main focus of Ramaswamy’s speech.

“If you’re going to depend on government services or the welfare state when you enter this country, then you should not be permitted to enter the country,” Ramaswamy said.

Ramaswamy said his goal for the event was to achieve unity in a sense of solidarity with the community. He hopes bringing some of the community members together Thursday can help inspire a positive and constructive path forward.

“All of us are American regardless of our race or creed and that’s what made this country great the first time around and that’s how we’re going to make this country great again,” Ramaswamy said.

Ramaswamy’s visit came less than two weeks after the city was thrust into the national spotlight after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump claimed Haitian immigrants in Springfield were eating resident’s cats and dogs. 

City officials debunked those claims, but Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, continued to spread false information about Haitian migrants. Officials acknowledge growing pains from the influx of some 15,000 Haitian immigrants but say there’s no evidence to support the claim they are consuming anyone’s pets.

More than 30 bomb threats have been made against schools, government buildings and city officials’ homes since last week, forcing evacuations and closures. Springfield also canceled its annual celebration of diversity, arts and culture in response to the threats, and on Tuesday, state police were deployed to city schools.

On Tuesday, city officials said that misinformation and falsehoods about Haitian immigrants have sowed fear and division, disrupted learning and cost taxpayer dollars. In a statement, they begged public figures, community members and the media to “move beyond divisive rhetoric and instead work toward fostering unity, understanding and respect.” The statement did not mention Trump or Vance by name.

Springfield Mayor Rob Rue has said the immigrant influx is straining police, hospitals and schools. He has also criticized the federal government, saying the city asked for help months ago. But he called on national leaders Tuesday to “temper their words and speak truth.”