Communities Targeted Following Trump’s False Claims About Haitian Immigrants: ‘It’s a Dangerous Form of Fearmongering’


Last week’s presidential debate introduced one of the most memed moments of this election cycle when former President Donald Trump asserted the debunked claim that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are stealing and eating people’s pets.

In the week since the cats and dogs narrative reached social media virality, there’ve been at least 30 bomb threats reported across the southwestern Ohio town. The threat of violence has led to emergency closures of schools and government buildings, and a deepening tension of the city’s already taut atmosphere.

Sophia Pierrelus lives an hour away from Springfield in Columbus, Ohio, where she’s witnessed firsthand how the negative portrayals about Haitians have hurt the broader community.

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“My children and myself have been threatened,” said Pierrelus, a Haitian immigrant who has been living in the area for 15 years.

The community leader and advocate has been having conversations with community members about next steps. There’s unanimous agreement that there needs to be more education.

“So many Haitians fled their country because of political instability, and they wanted a safe place to be,” Pierrelus said. “... (This) is a repeat of what they were facing in their home.”

Vice President Kamala Harris was asked about the hurtful comments against Haitian migrants Tuesday at a National Association of Black Journalists panel in Philadelphia where she panned Trump saying: “You cannot be entrusted with standing behind the seal of the president of the United States of America, engaging in that hateful rhetoric that, as usual, is designed to divide us as a country. It’s designed to have people pointing fingers at each other. … I think most people in our country, regardless of race, are starting to see through this nonsense.”

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine was also quick to dismiss Trump’s pet-eating narrative as a “false piece of garbage.”

When Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul first heard the former president say “They’re eating the pets!” on the presidential debate stage, he laughed.

“I laughed at memes and then we started hearing about bomb threats and other threats, then you start thinking about the gravity of this,” Raoul said. “It demonstrates a lack of appreciation of the contributions that Haitians have made to this country from the outset of this country’s existence.”

Despite public figures speaking out against the rhetoric, Raoul said the damage is already done, citing Trump and his running mate, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), still pushing the lie.

Ohio’s governor plans to deploy state troopers in the city’s schools for safety measures.

Clement Adibe, a political science professor at DePaul University, finds Trump’s rhetoric to be part of a troubling pattern.

“This isn’t surprising given Trump’s history of using race as a weapon,” Adibe said. “It’s a dangerous form of fearmongering that not only targets Haitians but also seeks to instill fear in broader communities.”


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