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During Tuesday night's presidential debate, former President Donald Trump brought up an internet rumor about Haitian immigrants in Ohio. "In Springfield, they're eating the dogs," Trump said. "The people that came in. They're eating the cats. They're eating the pets of the people that live there." Trump's remarks came one day after his running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, posted on X that people were having their pets abducted and eaten "by people who shouldn't be in this country." Similar comments have been amplified by other leading conservatives.
These false claims are rooted in bigotry, not reality. They are potentially dangerous to both legal and undocumented immigrants. And with such undisciplined messaging, Trump and Vance are committing political self-sabotage.
Since the pandemic, Springfield, Ohio, has seen an influx of Haitian migrants, which it estimates at between 12,000 and 15,000. But the city's website notes that these migrants are here legally, through the Immigration Parole Program. Many have Temporary Protected Status, which allows them to live and work in the U.S. These legal migrants are going to work, attending church, and raising their families. They are contributing to the town's growth and have helped fuel its economy.
Moreover, as ABC News debate moderator David Muir pointed out to Trump on-air, there is no credible evidence that pets are being harmed or abused by migrants in Springfield. The Springfield Police Department has debunked this notion, as has numerous media outlets. It is nothing more than a fringe hoax that has now been discussed in a televised debate with 67 million viewers tuning in.
It is beyond cynical that Trump and Vance are trafficking in such ugly rhetoric. It plays on people's fears and suspicions of outsiders, especially at a time when Americans are growing more skeptical of immigration. Consider that Neo-Nazis have already felt emboldened to march through Springfield in August during a local festival.
Inflammatory speech can have real-life consequences. It can inspire violence, like the mass shootings at a mall in El Paso and at a Pittsburgh synagogue. On Thursday morning, Springfield City Hall was evacuated due to an unspecified threat. Hateful speech can lead to a rise in hate crimes, and puts immigrant communities at risk of harassment. Some Haitian Americans have told reporters that they are fearful for their safety, and it's not a stretch to imagine Haitian kids in Springfield being bullied at school over this controversy.
Strategically, when Trump and Vance are talking about migrants eating pets, they are taking a risk in an election that is going to be close. Vice President Kamala Harris is vulnerable on immigration, yet she skated through the debate without any meaningful discussion about her role in the Biden border crisis. That's because valuable time was wasted on myths about Haitians. Trump also said during the debate that parts of a Colorado town were under control of Venezuelan gangs, another fake non-story (a Colorado newspaper op-ed has hit back at what it called "gang hysteria perpetrated by dodgy politicians.")
Given that most voters already trust Republicans over Democrats on immigration and border security, this was a missed opportunity by Trump to challenge Harris. As for JD Vance, his fixation on migrants allegedly eating pets, like his references to "childless cat ladies," is making him seem weird and desperate.
True, the arrival of large numbers of migrants in Springfield has led to growing pains. Tensions have been high since 2023, when a Haitian without a valid U.S. driver's license crashed his minivan into a school bus, tragically killing a child and injuring many more. But the father of the young boy who died in the accident has called on "morally bankrupt" Republican politicians to stop using his son's name to stoke hate. "This needs to stop now," he said.
He's right. There's nothing funny or productive about defaming an entire group of people.
Conservatives amused by the of slew of Trump cat memes flooding the internet ought to remember that the U.S. is home to 1.1 million Haitian Americans. Haitians are in fact more likely to be naturalized U.S. citizens than immigrants overall, according to the Migration Policy Institute, meaning that many can vote. And right now, Haitians from Florida to Rhode Island are speaking out against Trump's pet-eating nonsense.
They are an insult to immigrants—and to American voters.
Raul A. Reyes is an attorney and contributor to NBC Latino and CNN Opinion. Follow him on X: @RaulAReyes, and Instagram: @raulareyes1.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
