When Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance last week spread false claims about Haitian immigrants stealing and eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, there was widespread condemnation.
Since then they've distanced themselves from the comments 鈥� but members of South Florida鈥檚 Haitian community have been voicing their concerns.
"We are a community who have been subject to the accusations in the past. But this presidential race, they鈥檙e at their lowest," said North Miami Mayor Alix Desulme.
The city of North Miami has one of the largest concentrations of Haitians in the U.S., with South Florida home to of Haitian immigrants altogether.
After Trump鈥檚 debunked claims during the first presidential debate last week, some of the mayor鈥檚 constituents were fearful of potential threats here in South Florida, just as Haitians in Springfield were.
"They really had to have a conversation with their kids before their kids could go to school the following day," Desulme told WLRN.
While there haven't been any reported threats against Haitians in South Florida, have been made against schools, hospitals and government buildings in Springfield.
"This is the turn of the Haitian community today," said Nahum Jean-Louis, a Haitian-American professor at Florida International University. "But a few years ago, it was the turn of the Mexicans. And it was also the turn of the Muslims. It鈥檚 about the "other."
READ MORE: Trump鈥檚 derision of Haitians goes back years
Fear and uneasiness, he says, have been at the center of his conversations with Haitian students and what they鈥檙e feeling since Trump鈥檚 comments spread and kept spreading.
"They express fear that [this] might be a return of challenges their parents used to face, in the past," said Jean-Louis.
Over the last week, other South Florida leaders have echoed Delsume鈥檚 concerns, calling Trump's remarks xenophobic.
"Let鈥檚 be clear: Haitians and other immigrants come to this country committed to education, hard work and building a better life, not just for themselves but for all of us," wrote Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus McCormick in a statement.
"Trump鈥檚 comments are a distraction from the real issues we face, and we won鈥檛 be fooled."
This week, Miami-Dade county commissioners unanimously approved a resolution applauding the contributions of Haitians to the U.S. and quote 鈥渇abric of Miami-Dade.鈥� They also condemned false generalizations that put Haitians in a poor light.
"We will not stand idly by while these false, divisive remarks are made about members of our beautifully diverse community,鈥� Chairman Oliver Gilbert, III wrote in a statement.
Speaking Tuesday in a panel interview with the National Association of Black Journalists, Vice President Harris said Trump鈥檚 remarks were , and insisted he 鈥渉as to stop.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 a crying shame 鈥� I mean, my heart breaks for this community,鈥� Harris told the panel.
