A top Haitian official condemned recent false claims about immigrants eating pets in Ohio at the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday.
During the September 10 presidential debate, former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, repeated a claim that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, were "eating the pets." Trump's running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, has also spread the false rumor. Moderator David Muir fact-checked Trump during the debate, and Springfield authorities have repeatedly denied such claims.
These false claims have threatened the safety of not only Springfield's Haitian community but the entire city. Bomb threats were made in Springfield following the false claims, leading to the closures of schools and municipal buildings.
On Thursday, Edgard Leblanc Fils, the president of Haiti's transitional council, addressed his country's concern about the repercussions of these false claims.
"I would like to extend a brotherly greeting to all friends of Haiti that have shown solidarity towards the migrants from our country—and in particular, those living in Springfield, Ohio," he said.
Fils said that the history of U.S.-Haiti relations "enables us to say with confidence that the American people reject any incitement to hate against our community."
"The passions that naturally arise during an election campaign should never serve as a pretext for xenophobia or racism in a country such as the United States, a country forged by immigrants from all countries, and which has become a model of democracy for the world," he added.
The White House and President Joe Biden have also condemned the false claims.
Fils also talked about gang violence in Haiti and bemoaned the surge of citizens fleeing because of it. The U.N. said in April that over 53,000 people left Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince in less than three weeks. The vast majority of those who fled did so because of gang violence.
At least 1,379 people were reported killed or injured in Haiti from April through June, with another 428 kidnapped, according to the U.N. There are at least 700,00 displaced Haitians, of whom more than half are children, as gangs continue to run Port-au-Prince.
On his recent trip to the Caribbean country, William O'Neill, United Nations Expert on Human Rights in Haiti, "saw that areas previously not impacted by gang violence are now directly impacted," he said at a news conference last week.
In June, the Biden administration gave temporary protected status to an additional 309,000 Haitians living in the U.S. from deportation, with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas calling it "humanitarian relief to Haitians already present in the United States given the conditions that existed in their home country."
Immigration advocates estimated at the time that this move would bring the total number of Haitians with protected status in the U.S. to about 500,000.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
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