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RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump promised mass deportations of Haitian immigrants in an Ohio city on Friday, shortly after President Joe Biden called for attacks on that community to stop.
"We will do large deportations in Springfield, Ohio," Trump said at a news conference at his golf resort in Los Angeles.
While Trump, 78, continued his attacks on immigrants, he did not revisit false and derogatory remarks he made during his debate on Tuesday night with his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.
Those comments, including that the Haitian community was eating household pets, drew a sharp rebuke earlier on Friday from Biden.
At a White House event celebrating Black excellence, Biden referred to his White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, as a proud Haitian American.
"A community that's under attack in our country right now. It's simply wrong. There's no place in America. This has to stop — what he's doing. It has to stop," Biden said.
Haitian community leaders across the United States said the Republican candidate's remarks could put lives at risk and further inflame tensions in Springfield, Ohio, where thousands of recent Haitian arrivals have boosted the local economy but also strained the social safety net.
Trump's comments that "they're eating the dogs, the people that came in, they're eating the cats" during the debate were the latest in a long list of lies about immigrants that have defined his political career. It followed a similar false claim spread by his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, on social media about Springfield's new residents.
City officials say they have received no credible reports of anybody eating household animals. Karen Graves, a city spokesperson, said she was not aware of recent hate crimes targeting Haitian residents but that some had been victims of "crimes of opportunity," such as property theft.
Earlier, Trump said that the influx of 20,000 illegal Haitian migrants in the city of 58,000 people has destroyed the way of life in Springfield.
Contributing: Nandita Bose and Doina Chiacu
