Vance touts deportation plan in Wisconsin city where tensions flared over refugee resettlement

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (AP) — Stephanie Hirsch remembers growing up in the western Wisconsin city of Eau Claire when the community welcomed newly arriving Hmong refugees from Southeast Asia.

So Hirsch, now the Eau Claire city manager, said she was surprised at the hostility, fear and anger she saw last fall, when residents learned several dozen refugees would start arriving legally in the community of about 70,000. Opponents spread misinformation — including on a billboard — about how many people were coming and from where, and people packed a city meeting to protest the resettlements.

“It’s very hard for me to understand that fear,” Hirsch said. “I completely disagree with being afraid of people from different cultures. In fact, I’m really excited about it.”

But the way lifelong Eau Claire resident Fred Kappus saw it, the city should have other priorities.

“We really should attend to the homelessness situation before we bring in people from elsewhere,” said Kappus, the vice chairman of the Eau Claire Republican Party.

The flaring tension over the resettlement of refugees in Eau Claire has been repeated in many other midsize communities across the U.S. And it served as a backdrop to a campaign rally Tuesday with Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance, who has focused on immigration and anti-immigrant rhetoric as he and former President Donald Trump campaign.

Vance argued Tuesday that illegal immigration has devastated parts of the country, including places like Wisconsin that are far from the U.S. border with Mexico. He blames Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden for problems such as the flow of illegal drugs, and says he and Trump will secure the border and “put Americans first.”

“Every community is a border state,” Vance said. “Every community is a border community.”

The Ohio senator also has continued to promote false claims that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, are abducting and eating pets as he tries to draw attention to Democratic presidential nominee Harris’ immigration policies. Officials have said there have been no credible or detailed reports about the claims.

Vance defended talking about the claims in Springfield when asked about it Tuesday.

“I haven’t made up anything," Vance said. “I just listened to people who were telling me things.”

Vance said he wants to travel to Springfield and speak with people there, but that wouldn't be in the city's best interests right now.

Western Wisconsin is a target for both sides in one of the “blue wall” states, along with Pennsylvania and neighboring Michigan, that both parties say they need to win to secure the White House. Vance campaigned in Michigan earlier Tuesday before going to Wisconsin.

The city — a regional economic hub about 90 miles east of Minneapolis — is reliably Democratic. But it is located in a county where margins of victory may make a difference in November. Biden carried the county by 11 points over Trump in 2020, when the Democrat won Wisconsin and the election. Trump lost the county by 7 points in 2016, but won Wisconsin that year.

Vance did not mention the resettlement in Eau Claire during his rally, but did talk about Trump’s plan to deport people living in the country illegally, drawing loud cheers from the crowd. He also said communities that are “overrun” by immigration have seen problems such as rising rents, increased car insurance costs and added pressure on healthcare and school systems.

The issue of immigration already has polarized people in Eau Claire and the surrounding area.

When news broke nearly a year ago that about 75 refugees who fled their countries due to war or persecution were headed to the region — representing about 0.10% of Eau Claire's population — Republicans introduced bills at the state and federal level designed to give local communities more say.

A misleading billboard accused Eau Claire city leaders of using tax dollars to “traffic Somali refugees” and keeping the plan secret, though no one from Somalia was part of the resettlement effort. An overflow crowd at an Eau Claire County Board meeting opposed the resettlement, but the board rejected a resolution that would have paused the effort.

There was also initially a “total and complete lack of transparency” related to the resettlements and where the refugees were coming from, said Kappus, the Republican critic.

Hirsch, the city's top official, says officials don't need to hold a public hearing anytime someone moves into town.

“We have many thousands of people who move to Eau Claire on an annual basis,” she said. “There’s nothing unusual about having people move to Eau Claire.”

World Relief, a humanitarian aid group founded by the National Association of Evangelicals, settled 77 refugees in Eau Claire since February, about half from the African countries of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo and Central African Republic and others from Venezuela and Colombia, said Matthew Soerens, vice president of advocacy and policy. Five Somalis live in the nearby community of Barron, where family members had previously settled.

World Relief expects 100 to 125 more refugees in Eau Claire in the federal government’s budget year, starting Oct. 1, to arrive at about the same pace since the group began operations in the Wisconsin city in February.

Bill Berg, 73, who was born and raised in Eau Claire and lived most of his life there, said, “It’s a minority that disagrees with refugee resettlement.”

“It’s ‘the other,’” he said Tuesday when asked why he thought some were opposed. “It’s always ‘the other.’”

He described Eau Claire as a “welcoming community” and said he had no problem with the refugees.

“Half of my family are of other races, which I think is a good thing,” he said.

World Relief, one of 10 nongovernmental organizations that works with the State Department and the U.N. refugee agency to bring refugees to the United States after extensive vetting, has been expanding after leaner times. President Joe Biden raised the cap on bringing refugees to 125,000 in the budget year ending Sept. 30 from 18,000 under Trump in 2020, the lowest since refugee resettlement began in 1980.

Just over 84,000 refugees came to the United States from Oct. 1 through Aug. 31, a pace that falls short of the 125,000 cap. Wisconsin took in 1,500 of them, about one-third from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is plagued by violent crime and civil unrest.

Eau Claire is one of several locations, along with Austin, Texas; Baltimore; and Scott County, Iowa, where World Relief grew over the last year, Soerens said. The group felt it succeeded in Appleton, Wisconsin — where it had settled refugees for more than a decade — and started looking for another Wisconsin city that offered jobs and a welcoming spirit. They spoke with police departments, school districts, potential employers and churches.

“The community that sort of rose to the top was Eau Claire, in part because the local government was eager,” Soerens said.

Hirsch was so confident that Eau Claire would be a good fit, she wrote the U.S. State Department last year that the county had an unemployment rate of 3.5%, with plenty of job opportunities, and “a long history of welcoming refugees.”

But then the backlash hit.

Kappus, who lived his entire life in Eau Claire, thinks immigration is one of the top concerns of voters in western Wisconsin.

“Fentanyl is a problem here in west-central Wisconsin and Eau Claire,” Kappus said. “It all goes back to our open borders.”

World Relief, like other resettlement agencies, provides temporary aid that may include food, rent, clothing, furniture and help with school enrollment and job searches. That’s far different from Springfield, Ohio, where many Haitians are in the country under Temporary Protected Status, which spares people from being deported to countries that are considered unsafe due to natural disasters or civil strife. Refugees, unlike those on TPS, have a path to citizenship.

Eau Claire, the fastest-growing city in the northern half of Wisconsin, is attracting people from all over, including small towns and big cities, people escaping warmer climates and those from other countries, Hirsch said.

“We’re happy to have people come to the community whether they are refugees from the Congo or a candidate for vice president,” she said. “We want to be a community that’s welcoming.”

Spagat reported from San Diego.

Supporters gather at a rally to hear Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, at Apple Valley Events in Sparta, Mich. (Isaac Ritchey/The Grand Rapids Press via AP)

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance and his wife Usha Vance, arrive at a campaign stop at Apple Valley Events in Sparta, Mich., Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (Isaac Ritchey/The Grand Rapids Press via AP)

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance speaks during a campaign stop at Apple Valley Events in Sparta, Mich., Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (Isaac Ritchey/The Grand Rapids Press via AP)

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance speaks during a campaign stop at Apple Valley Events in Sparta, Mich., Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (Isaac Ritchey/The Grand Rapids Press via AP)

Supporters look for spots in the standing room only section to listen to Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, at Apple Valley Events in Sparta, Mich. (Isaac Ritchey/The Grand Rapids Press via AP)

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance speaks during a campaign stop at Apple Valley Events in Sparta, Mich., Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (Isaac Ritchey/The Grand Rapids Press via AP)

Supporters listens as Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance speaks during a campaign stop at Apple Valley Events in Sparta, Mich., Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (Isaac Ritchey/The Grand Rapids Press via AP)

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance speaks during a campaign stop at Apple Valley Events in Sparta, Mich., Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (Isaac Ritchey/The Grand Rapids Press via AP)

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance speaks during a campaign stop at Apple Valley Events in Sparta, Mich., Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (Isaac Ritchey/The Grand Rapids Press via AP)

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance speaks during a campaign stop at Apple Valley Events in Sparta, Mich., Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (Isaac Ritchey/The Grand Rapids Press via AP)

Stephanie Hirsch, city manager for Eau Claire, Wis., who supported the resettlement of refugees in the western Wisconsin city despite opposition from Republicans, poses in a downtown park ahead of a campaign visit from vice presidential candidate JD Vance Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)

Stephanie Hirsch, city manager for Eau Claire, Wis., who supported the resettlement of refugees in the western Wisconsin city despite opposition from Republicans, poses in a downtown park ahead of a campaign visit from vice presidential candidate JD Vance Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)

Stephanie Hirsch, city manager for Eau Claire, Wis., who supported the resettlement of refugees in the western Wisconsin city despite opposition from Republicans, poses in a downtown park ahead of a campaign visit from vice presidential candidate JD Vance Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)

Here are the AP’s latest coverage plans, top stories and promotable content. All times EDT. Find the AP’s top photos of the day in Today’s Photo Collection. For up-to-the-minute information on AP’s coverage, visit Coverage Plan in APNewsroom.

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ELECTION 2024-OVERLOOKED AMERICA — The Electoral College system for electing a president, which replaces the popular vote, puts disproportionate voting power in the hands of a relative few states. The lack of attention elsewhere leaves voters in much of the country feeling as if they and the issues they care about have been sidelined. By Christine Fernando. SENT: 1,590 words, photos, video. With ELECTION 2024-OVERLOOKED AMERICA-THINGS TO KNOW — SENT.

ELECTION 2024-TRUMP BIBLES-CHINA — Thousands of copies of Donald Trump’s “God Bless the USA” Bible were printed in China, a country the former president has repeatedly accused of stealing American jobs and engaging in unfair trade practices. Global trade records reviewed by The Associated Press show a publisher in China’s eastern city of Hangzhou shipped close to 120,000 of the Bibles to the United States between early February and late March. By Richard Lardner and Dake Kang. SENT: 1,510 words, photos. An abridged version will also be available by 11 a.m.

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TOP STORIES

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HURRICANE-MILTON — Hurricane Milton churned Wednesday toward a potentially catastrophic collision along the west coast of Florida, where some residents insisted they would stay after millions were ordered to evacuate and officials warned that stragglers would face grim odds of surviving. The Tampa Bay area, home to more than 3.3 million people, faced the possibility of widespread destruction after avoiding direct hits from major hurricanes for more than a century. The National Hurricane Center predicted Milton, a monstrous Category 5 hurricane during much of its approach, would likely weaken but remain a major hurricane when it makes landfall late Wednesday. By Terry Spencer and Haven Daley. SENT: 700 words, photos, videos, audio. With HURRICANE-MILTON-MEDICAL-CENTERS — Florida hospitals and health care facilities in Hurricane Milton’s path prepare for the worst; MILTON-GASOLINE — The hunt for gasoline is adding to Floridians’ anxiety as Milton nears ; AIRLINES-PRICE-GOUGING — Airlines say they’re capping fares in the hurricane’s path as Biden warns against price gouging; WAFFLE-HOUSE-INDEX — How Waffle House helps Southerners — and FEMA — judge a storm’s severity; TROPICAL-WEATHER-WORST-HURRICANES — How will Hurricane Milton stack up against other major recent storms?; HURRICANE-MILTON-THINGS-TO-KNOW — SENT.

HURRICANE-HELENE-CLIMATE — Scientists say human-caused climate change boosted the rainfall of deadly Hurricane Helene by about 10% and intensified its winds by about 11%. The rapid analysis by World Weather Attribution said the warming climate boosted Helene’s wind speeds by about 13 miles per hour and made the high sea temperatures that fueled the hurricane 200 to 500 times more likely. By Alexa St. John. SENT: 810 words, photos, video. With TROPICAL-WEATHER-HURRICANE-EXPLAINER — What makes a storm a hurricane? The dangers across five categories — SENT.

FEMA-MISINFORMATION — The Federal Emergency Management Agency has been fighting misinformation since Helene slammed into Florida nearly two weeks ago. The false claims are being fueled by former President Donald Trump and others just ahead of the presidential election, and are coming as the agency is gearing up to respond to a second major disaster. By Rebecca Santana. SENT: 1,190 words, photos.

Find a selection of related photos in the Climate Extreme Weather Hurricane Milton photo collection on APNewsroom. For more stories on Hurricane Milton, click here.

MIDEAST-WARS — Hezbollah has fired another barrage of rockets into Israel, and the militant group’s acting leader vows to keep up pressure that has forced thousands of Israelis from their homes near the Lebanese border. The Israeli military says it sent more ground troops into southern Lebanon, and that a senior Hezbollah commander was killed in an airstrike. By Bassem Mroue and Tia Goldenberg. SENT: 1,150 words, photos, videos, audio. With ISRAEL-STRIKING-IRAN — As Israel plots to strike Iran, its choices range from symbolic to severe (sent). Find a selection of related photos in the Mideast Tensions Photo Collection on APNewsroom.

EXTREME-HEAT-METHAMPHETAMINE — Increasingly hot summers and methamphetamine are a deadly mix. The stimulant is playing an outsize role in heat-related deaths across the United States. An Associated Press analysis of data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that methamphetamine is showing up more often on the death certificates of people who die of heat-related causes. By Anita Snow and Mary Katherine Wildeman. SENT: 1,020 words, photo.

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SPOTLIGHTING VOICES

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FESTIVALS-ACADIENS-ET-CREOLES-50-YEARS — Louisiana’s Cajun and Creole heritage will take center stage when the Festivals Acadiens et Creoles marks a half-century of honoring and celebrating the culture through music, arts, food and community. Organizers say what started as a one day concert in 1974 has grown into a three-day event and possibly one of the largest Cajun and Zydeco festivals held globally. And it’s free. This weekend’s festival brings together multi-generations of musicians and artists who annually fight to keep a culture from dying. By Chevel Johson Rodrigue. SENT: 790 words, photos.

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MORE NEWS

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HURRICANE-HELENE-KIDS-CAMP — This camp provides a safe space for kids to learn and play after Hurricane Helene. SENT: 690 words, photos.

FAT-BEAR-WEEK — Grazer beats the behemoth that killed her cub to win Alaska’s Fat Bear Contest. SENT: 490 words, photos, audio.

TROPICANA-IMPLOSION-LAS-VEGAS — Las Vegas will blow a kiss goodbye — literally — to the Tropicana with a flashy casino implosion. SENT: 590 words, photos.

COLORADO-BAKER-TRANSGENDER-CAKE — Colorado’s Supreme Court dismisses suit against baker who wouldn’t make a cake for transgender woman. SENT: 540 words, photos.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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ELECTION-2024-MAINE-TRUMP-CALL — Republican Donald Trump mixed up Democratic Gov. Janet Mills’ gender on a phone call with supporters in Maine. The Bangor Daily News obtained a recording of the call in which Trump referred to the state’s first female governor as “he” several times while attacking Mills on immigration. SENT: 330 words, photos.

ELECTION 2024-HOUSE-IMMIGRATION — In some of the closest House races in the country, Democratic candidates are leaning into an issue that Republicans have made a centerpiece of their pitch to voters — immigration. SENT: 1,020 words, photo.

ELECTION-DAY-PLOT — The FBI has arrested an Afghan man who officials say was inspired by the Islamic State militant organization and was plotting an Election Day attack targeting large crowds in the U.S., the Justice Department said. SENT: 820 words, photo, audio.

ELECTION 2024-ABORTION — Two court rulings this week have delivered major blows to reproductive rights in Texas and Georgia but, during a crucial time in the election cycle, Democrats have attempted to seize on them to energize voters to turn out in support of abortion access. SENT: 990 words, photo. WITH ABORTION-THINGS-TO-KNOW — SENT: 800 words, photos.

SUPREME COURT-OKLAHOMA EXECUTION — The Supreme Court is returning to the case of Richard Glossip, who has spent most of the past quarter century on Oklahoma’s death row for a murder he says he did not commit. SENT: 500 words, photo. Arguments at 10 a.m.

To help make sense of the way America picks a president, The Associated Press is offering this package of stories.

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NATIONAL

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DEATH-PENALTY-ALABAMA — A federal judge heard testimony about what happened during the nation’s first two nitrogen gas executions, weighing whether to allow Alabama to use that method again next month to put an inmate to death. SENT: 600 words. With SOUTH-CAROLINA-EXECUTION — South Carolina death row inmate told to choose between execution methods — SENT.

WISCONSIN-400-YEAR-VETO — Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ creative use of his expansive veto power in an attempt to lock in a school funding increase for 400 years comes before the state Supreme Court. SENT: 630 words, photo.

ILLINOIS-EX-HOUSE-SPEAKER — Jury selection begins in the corruption trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, once the longest-serving legislative leader in U.S. history. Madigan is charged in a multimillion-dollar racketeering and bribery scheme that included the state’s largest utility, ComEd. SENT: 370 words, photos.

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INTERNATIONAL

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MOZAMBIQUE-ELECTION — Mozambique is voting for a new president in an election that could extend the ruling party’s 49 years in power since the southern African nation gained independence from Portugal in 1975. SENT: 790 words, photos.

LAOS-ASEAN — Southeast Asian leaders gathered in the capital of Laos for an annual regional forum that will focus on tackling the prolonged civil war in Myanmar and territorial tensions in the South China Sea. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit will also be followed by meetings with global powers including China, the United States and Russia, which are contending for influence in the region. SENT: 930 words, photos, video.

KOREAS-TENSIONS — North Korea says it will permanently block its border with South Korea and boost its front-line defense posture to cope with “confrontational hysteria” by South Korean and U.S. forces, while not announcing an expected constitutional revision to designate South Korea its principal enemy and codify national borders. It’s unclear how the moves will affect ties with South Korea since cross-border travel and exchanges have been halted for years. SENT: 580 words, photos, video.

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BUSINESS/TECH

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GOOGLE-ANTITRUST — The U.S. Department of Justice is considering asking a federal judge to force Google to sell parts of its business in order to eliminate its online search monopoly. In a court filing, federal prosecutors also said the judge could ask the court to open the underlying data Google uses to power its ubiquitous search engine and artificial intelligence products to competitors. SENT: 330 words, photo.

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ENTERTAINMENT

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BOOKS-RILEY-KEOUGH-LISA-MARIE-PRESLEY — Riley Keough, the daughter of Lisa Marie Presley, has faithfully completed her mother’s memoir after her sudden death in 2023. She tells The Associated Press she felt a “duty” to finish the book, which touches on her father’s death, her relationship with her mother, her marriage to Michael Jackson, her struggles with addiction, and more. SENT: 880 words, photos.

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SPORTS

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TRANSGENDER SPORTS-GEORGIA — The regents who govern Georgia’s public universities and colleges want the NCAA to ban transgender women from participating in women’s sports. The unanimous vote came after Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones vowed in August to pass legislation banning transgender women from athletic events at public colleges. Opponents say those seeking bans on transgender participation in women’s and girls’ sports are pursuing political gain. SENT: 750 words, photo.

NEW-HAMPSHIRE-TRANSGENDER-SPORTS — A federal judge has declined to grant an immediate order sought by some New Hampshire parents to allow them to wear pink wristbands with “XX” on them at girls high school soccer games to protest transgender girls playing. SENT: 570 words.

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HOW TO REACH US

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Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani breaks his bat as he singles during the third inning in Game 3 of a baseball NL Division Series against the San Diego Padres, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

A neighbor cries during the funeral of Jean Louis Jeune Gracien, who was killed during an attack by armed gangs, in Pont-Sonde, Haiti, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

A person rides his bike through a flooded street in the rain as Hurricane Milton passes off the coast of Progreso, Yucatan state, Mexico, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Martin Zetina)

Ted Carlson puts his best friend Evan Purcell's cat McKenzie into a pick-up truck as the pair recover her along with other important items from Purcell's home ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Milton, as debris from Hurricane Helene damage to Purcell's garage level still sits alongside the driveway, in Holmes Beach on Anna Maria Island, Fla., Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. "This place couldn't handle Helene," said Carlson, predicting. "It's all going to be gone." (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Duke Energy project manager Tiger Yates, bottom center, walks among the hundreds of lineman trucks staged, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. at The Villages, Fla. in preparation for Hurricane Milton. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

Smoke and fire rise from the site of an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Palestinians mourn a relative killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip at a hospital in Deir al-Balah, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)