Top US Republicans peddled false claims denigrating immigrants Monday, saying Haitian arrivals are stealing and eating pets – a conspiracy theory, debunked by authorities, that went viral as Donald Trump stokes fears ahead of November’s election.

Trump running mate J.D. Vance and Republican lawmakers, officials and influencers have pushed unfounded rumours out of Springfield, Ohio that have thrust the city’s growing Haitian population into the centre of the US presidential race.

“Protect our ducks and kittens in Ohio!” Republicans on the US House Judiciary Committee posted on their X account, with an obviously fake image of Trump rescuing a white duck and a striped cat.

“Please vote for Trump so Haitian immigrants don’t eat us,” Senator Ted Cruz posted over an image of kittens.

Republicans appeared to be using the stories, which have clear racial undertones, to fuel a political attack against Trump’s rival Kamala Harris to suggest she has failed to rein in illegal immigration during her three-plus years as US vice-resident.