President Biden on Friday ripped former President Donald Trump for spreading allegations that Haitian immigrants are eating people’s pets in Springfield, Ohio.

Speaking at the Black Excellence Brunch at the White House, Mr. Biden spoke about his press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, whom he hailed as a “proud Haitian American.”

“The Haitian American community is under attack right now,” Mr. Biden said. “There’s no place in America for this. It has to stop. What he’s doing has to stop.” 

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In the presidential debate Tuesday night, Mr. Trump repeated the unproven claim previously amplified by his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio.

“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs,” Mr. Trump said. “The people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating, they’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”

Springfield has an estimated 10,000 Haitians of about 58,000 total residents. 

Mr. Vance has acknowledged that stories about immigrants eating cats might not be true, but his state office has been getting “many inquiries” about it.

The Springfield Police Division said it has not received any reports of cats or dogs being stolen or eaten. It said the story went viral after originating on a Springfield Facebook group, where a poster claimed the friend of a neighbor’s daughter found her cat hanging from a branch at a Haitian neighbor’s home. It is unclear if the story has been verified.

But Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost on Wednesday said credible claims back up some allegations, such as migrants taking geese from parks.

“There’s a recorded police call from a witness who saw immigrants capturing geese for food in Springfield. Citizens testified to City Council,” Mr. Yost said on social media.