Trump pledges "largest deportation" in U.S. history, starting in Ohio and Colorado

What he's saying: "We're going to have the largest deportation in the history of our country," Trump said at a news conference at Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.

• "And we're going to start with Springfield and Aurora."
• Trump also said he may hold campaign events in one or both cities.

Catch up quick: During Tuesday's debate, Trump echoed unfounded narratives that Haitian immigrants were eating family pets in Springfield.

• He also referenced exaggerated claims about Venezuelan gang activity in Aurora, claiming migrants are "taking over the town, taking over buildings ... they're destroying our country."

The other side: Law enforcement officials and local leaders in both cities have countered the claims.

• "The prison gang Tren de Aragua "has not 'taken over' [Aurora]," Mayor Mike Coffman and Aurora City Council member Danielle Jurinsky said in a joint statement Wednesday.
• "There have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community," a Springfield police spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday.

State of play: Trump's call for mass deportations on Friday drew criticism from immigrant rights groups in Colorado.

• "Trump's fear mongering is as dangerous as it is dishonest," Gladis Ibarra, co-executive director of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, said in a statement.
• "He doesn't care about Aurora or Colorado. He's using us as political pawns to push a racist agenda that paints our entire community in a bad light, and we won't fall for it," Ibarra said. "We will not let [immigrants] be demonized or ripped from our communities."

Go deeper:

• Aurora leaders backtrack on "overstated" claims of Venezuelan gang activity
• Unfounded Venezuelan gang rumors spill into national immigration debate
• Ohio city at center of pet eating rumor receives bomb threats
• Biden admin condemns "dangerous" conspiracy about Haitian immigrants
• Dogs, fraud and asylums: Trump peddles conspiracies amid debate delirium