"Unfortunately, this is not the first time that foreign citizens have fallen victim to disinformation campaigns, been dehumanized and stigmatized to serve political purposes", says Haiti's government in a statement.
Several Republican representatives have earlier this week forwarded rumors that Haitian migrants kill and eat cats and dogs belonging to residents in the city of Springfield. According to Springfield's mayor, the claims are completely fabricated.
In Springfield, they eat the dogs – the people who have come in – they eat the cats, they eat the residents' pets, said Trump in the debate.
When moderator David Muir refuted his claims, Trump insisted that he had "seen people on TV" who said that their dog had been eaten.
"We strongly deny these statements, which undermine our citizens' dignity and may ultimately put their lives at risk", says Haiti's government.
