Controversy erupted following Tuesday night's debate over former President Donald Trump's reference to unconfirmed reports about Haitian migrants abducting and eating people's pets and other animals in the small town of Springfield, Ohio, for which Democrats and the media dismissively mocked him for what they say is a baseless conspiracy theory.

Yet, recent actions from Ohio's Republican governor and attorney general confirmed that there are problems in Springfield as a result of a rapid influx of migrants from Haiti that have overwhelmed the town's already strained resources, according to the Associated Press.

That said, the specific claim about pets being eaten remains anecdotal and unsubstantiated -- at least for now unless evidence of such emerges.

Governor to address problems caused by surge of migrants in small town

In a Wednesday news release, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced that he was dispatching a surge of Ohio State Highway Patrol officers to Springfield to address rising crime and traffic issues attributed to Haitian migrants who are unfamiliar with U.S. laws and customs.

He also awarded the city with an additional $2.5 million to bolster healthcare resources swamped by increased demand from migrants, and instructed both the state and county health departments to support the effort.

"I want the people of Springfield and Clark County to know that as we move forward, we will continue to do everything we can to help the community deal with this surge of migrants," DeWine said. "The federal government has not demonstrated that they have any kind of plan to deal with the issue. We will not walk away."

"The federal government needs to assist these communities with funding because these dramatic migrant surges impact every citizen in the community -- the moms who have to wait hours in a waiting room with a sick child, everyone who drives on our streets, and the children who go to school in more crowded classrooms," the governor added. "The federal government does not have a plan to give any support to the communities impacted by surges, and we have absolutely no indication that a plan is coming in the near future."

DeWine joins dismissal of pet-eating claims

The problem in Springfield, a town of around 60,000 total residents, has been the relatively rapid influx of upwards of 15,000-20,000 Haitian migrants -- one-quarter to one-third of the original population -- arriving there within just the past couple of years as part of a federal government immigration program, per the AP.

That has predictably led to clashes and complaints over cultural differences and increased competition for limited resources between the newly arrived migrants and the town's native residents, which has also fueled the unconfirmed reports of particularly egregious behavior from some that have been referenced by former President Trump and others.

However, in a CBS News interview on Wednesday, Gov. DeWine rejected the pet-eating claims and said, "This is something that came up on the internet, and the internet can be quite crazy sometimes." He added, "Mayor [Rob] Rue of Springfield says, 'No, there's no truth in that.' They have no evidence of that at all. So, I think we go with what the mayor says. He knows his city."

State attorney general orders investigation into local complaints from Springfield

Yet, in a Monday press release, Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost seemed to suggest the reflexively dismissed reports from local residents of unacceptable behavior from the Haitian migrants was worthy of an investigation and potential legal action, as was the sudden influx of thousands of migrants into the small town of Springfield.

"This is absurd -- Springfield has swollen by more than a third due to migrants," Yost said. “How many people can they be expected to take? What are the limits to the federal government’s power? Could the federal government simply funnel into Ohio all the millions of migrants flooding in under the current administration’s watch? There’s got to be a limiting principle. We’re going to find a way to get this disaster in front of a federal judge."

"The problem is not migrants, it is way, way too many migrants in a short period of time," he continued. "The problem is a massive increase in the population without any communication or assistance from the federal government."

The AG observed that local residents have complained about not just strained resources but also traffic accidents, stolen property -- including livestock -- migrant squatters, and the killing and eating of wildlife in the area, and said, "Ohio is a great place to work and live. But overwhelming our small towns with massive migrant populations without any coordination or assistance from the federal government is changing that in front of our eyes."