Biden condemns Trump’s attacks on Haitian-American community: ‘This has to stop’

The US president has criticized his Republican rival for baselessly attacking Haitian residents in the city of Springfield, Ohio.

President Joe Biden has criticized attacks targeting the Haitian-American community in the US during the election campaign, accusing Republican leaders of inciting fear.

At a White House brunch on Friday billed as a “celebration of Black excellence,” Biden noted that Haitian-Americans are being “attacked in our country right now.” His comments were a criticism of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Sen. J.D. Vance, who have spread unfounded allegations about Haitian migrants and asylum seekers in the U.S.

“This is simply wrong. This kind of speech has no place in America,” Biden said, without directly naming Trump. “This has to stop, what he’s doing. This has to stop.”

Trump, a former Republican president, and Vance, an Ohio senator, have campaigned heavily on anti-immigrant rhetoric, warning of mass migration and crime at rallies across the country.

Recently, both have focused on the growing Haitian-American community in Springfield, Ohio, where racial and ethnic tensions have been rising. Springfield, located in the industrial Rust Belt, has sought to revitalize its economy with the arrival of new immigrants. But the growth of the Haitian-American community, which is estimated to have grown to 15,000 people, has also generated backlash.

Some longtime residents have called on city officials to “stop” Haitians from coming in. Tensions escalated in August 2023 after a Haitian man was involved in a car accident that killed an 11-year-old child on the first day of school.

Despite pleas from the boy’s family for the community to cease hate speech, attacks on the Haitian community continued, gaining national attention. Unfounded rumors began circulating online claiming that Haitian-Americans were eating pets, perpetuating long-standing anti-immigrant stereotypes in the U.S.

The rumor reportedly originated from a screenshot of a private Facebook group, but local authorities have denied it was true. Still, both Trump and Vance have mentioned the rumor on multiple occasions, including at the September 10 presidential debate, which was watched by 67 million people. “They’re eating the dogs, the people that came in,” Trump said at the debate, adding, “They’re eating the cats.”

Rising tensions in Springfield have resulted in several threats, reportedly related to anti-immigrant sentiment. On Thursday, City Hall was evacuated after a bomb threat, and other buildings, including schools, were evacuated after new explosives alerts.

Despite this, Trump continued to rail against the Haitian-American community at a press conference at his California golf club on Friday. He claimed that 20,000 illegal immigrants had “invaded” Springfield, a city of 58,000 people, destroying their way of life. He also said that Springfield and Aurora, Colorado, would be targets of his immigration crackdown if he were reelected.

“We will have the largest deportation in the history of our country,” Trump said. “And we will start in Springfield and Aurora.”

Via News Agencies