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STORY: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump pledged to conduct mass deportations of Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio on Friday (September 13), even though the majority of them are in the United States legally.

"I can say this, we will do large deportations from Springfield, Ohio."

The city has been at the center of a social media maelstrom after right-wing agitators latched on to false claims that Haitian arrivals were eating household pets.

The majority of the 15,000 Haitians in Springfield are there legally.

Trump's longstanding pledge to conduct mass deportations usually refers to those in the country illegally.

He did not repeat the assertion he made during Tuesday's presidential debate with Democrat Kamala Harris that immigrants were eating dogs and cats. Those remarks have been widely mocked.

President Joe Biden at the White House on Friday addressed the issue directly.

"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."

Haitian community leaders across the U.S. have said Trump's remarks could put lives at risk and further inflame tensions in Springfield.

Thousands of recent Haitian arrivals there have boosted the local economy but also strained the social safety net.

City officials say they have received no credible reports of anybody eating household animals.