"Let us stop this together and educate one another so we can all live together as one family. Because I'm tired of this back and forth. It's not worth it. It's not needed," Sophia Pierrelus said.

As if it wasn't enough to say it once, Donald Trump repeated his baseless claims from the presidential debate with Kamala Harris that Haitians in Springfield are eating cats and dogs.

But these are not just hurtful rumors picked up by a former president, current presidential candidate and his pick for VP: Bomb threats have been called into Springfield City Hall since Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, decided to begin spewing their hateful lies.

What is true is that Ohio has a growing Haitian immigrant population. In Springfield, around 15,000 Haitians have arrived in a city of almost 60,000 since 2020 under the federal government's Temporary Protected Status program fleeing gangs and economic insecurity.

How had your community reacted to the perpetuation of this stupid and mean trope about immigrants?

They are angry. They are very upset. Very hurt. They're afraid, especially the ones in Springfield. They've been telling me about accusations of them eating pets. And then there's the children.

A viral rumor with serious consequences:'Nobody's eating cats. Nobody's eating dogs.' John Legend says Haitian immigrants deserve grace