Biden denounces Trump's use of debunked claims about Haitian migrants

Sept. 13 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden on Friday forcefully denounced Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump 's efforts to amplify debunked anti-migrant conspiracy theories about Haitian immigrants in Ohio.

During an appearance at an event at the White House, Biden laid into Trump for spreading false claims about migrants eating dogs and cats in Springfield, Ohio, which he repeated this week during his debate with his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris .

Trump's claims, as well as similar ones made earlier by GOP running mate JD Vance, have been blamed for bomb threats that have forced the closure and evacuations of schools and public buildings in the Ohio city.

"I want to today take a moment to say something," the president said. "Like so many Americans, like [White House press secretary] Karine [Jean-Pierre], as you pointed out, 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."

Springfield schools were evacuated again Friday amid the bomb threats. One middle school and two elementary schools were also closed by threats .

Roosevelt Middle School closed before students arrived Friday, and Perrin Woods and Snowhill elementary schools evacuated students after the threats came in Friday morning.

City buildings, a courthouse and at least one school were evacuated Thursday as the city continued dealing with threats after Trump's claims.

Springfield city officials said an email Friday morning targeted several city commissioners and a city employee, and a second email Friday morning targeted several schools, Bureau of Motor Vehicles and the Ohio License Bureau Southside.

Springfield police are working with the Dayton FBI office to track down the source of the threats.

Springfield City Manager Brian Heck said in a video statement that there is no evidence migrants there are eating people's pets as claimed by Trump.

"It is disappointing that some of the narrative surrounding our city has been skewed by misinformation circulating on social media and further amplified by political rhetoric in the current highly charged presidential election cycle," Heck said.

Heck said due to a robust and diverse industrial base, there's growing appeal among new residents, including a rapidly growing migrant population, and that has strained municipal resources.

But he said that is contributing to the stabilization of the local economy.

On Thursday local and federal law enforcement responded to a bomb threat against multiple Springfield facilities.

Springfield Police Chief Allison Elliott said during a Thursday press conference, "This public safety threat prompted an immediate response from local and regional law enforcement and our public safety partners."

Springfield Mayor Bob Rue told the Washington Post the threat "used hateful language towards immigrants and Haitians in our community."

The threat used hateful language against the city's migrants that aligned with the false claims spread by Republicans.

The rumor started when local news stations reported a story of a woman arrested for allegedly killing and eating someone's cat . But it happened two hours away from Springfield and the woman was born in the United States and is not a migrant.

Amplified by right-wing social media influencers, the story was mischaracterized as an example of migrant crime and went viral on the X social media platform. On Monday it was used by Vance to attack Harris and the Biden administration's border policy.

Trump greatly amplified the anti-migrant slur during his debate his Harris on Tuesday, asserting, "In Springfield, they're eating the dogs, the people that came in, they're eating the cats. They're eating the pets of the people that live there."