
FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP KEEPS SAYING THAT HAITIAN IMMIGRANTS ARE EATING PETS
Here’s what’s really going on.
Published October 23, 2024
THE FACTS: WHERE DID THIS RUMOR COME FROM?
- The rumor about Haitian immigrants abducting and eating pets originated in a Springfield, Ohio, Facebook group. Several posts went viral, some of them linking the posts to separate incidents from other parts of Ohio not involving Haitians. The posts were picked up and re-shared by prominent right-wing personalities like Charlie Kirk, Stephen Miller, and Elon Musk.
- President Trump and Vice Presidential nominee, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, both spread and promoted the rumor, both on social media and at events—most notably the September 10th Presidential Debate on ABC.
THE FACTS: ARE HAITIAN MIGRANTS EATING CATS?
- No. Of course not. Springfield Police investigations commander Mike Kranz said there have been “no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.”
- Springfield has had an influx of Haitian migrants, mostly since the pandemic. The 2020 census counted Springfield’s population as around 58,000, and city officials have estimated that as many as 20,000 Haitian migrants have settled there as of now. Over 700,000 Haitian immigrants live in the United States as a whole, the country’s 15th largest foreign-born population.
THE FACTS: ARE THE HAITIAN MIGRANTS IN THE U.S. LEGALLY?
- A large number of the Haitian migrants in the US are legal immigrants, here either under the parole program, which allows Haitians with a US sponsor to live and work in the US for two years, or protected under Temporary Protected Status (TPS) extended by the Biden Administration for those arrived to the US before June 3, 2024.
- Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a temporary immigration status provided to nationals of certain countries experiencing problems that make it difficult or unsafe for their nationals to be deported there. TPS was created in the Immigration Act of 1990 under President George H.W. Bush. People with TPS can work legally and cannot be deported.
THE FACTS: WAS SOMEONE KILLED BY A HAITIAN MIGRANT IN OHIO?
- On the first day of school 2023, a minivan driven by a Haitian man swerved into traffic and collided with a school bus. An 11-year-old boy was killed, and 23 others were injured.
- The Haitian man, who was driving with an invalid license, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and vehicular homicide and sentenced to 9 to 13 years in prison.
- The father of the child killed has denounced attacks that use his son’s death as a “political tool” to attack immigrants and has asked for an apology.
THE FACTS: HOW HAS THE HAITIAN MIGRANT POPULATION AFFECTED SPRINGFIELD?
- While the influx has put stress on the housing market, schools, and hospitals, the new population has revitalized Springfield’s economy.
- Springfield had a labor shortage, especially for manufacturing and entry-level jobs that has now been filled by Haitian workers—who employers say are reliable and responsible.
- According to Springfield police, there has been no rise in crime that can be tied to the presence of Haitians or evidence of Haitian gangs in the area.
WHY DOES THIS MATTER?
- Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, who has refuted the pet-eating allegations, reported that there were 33 bomb threats in Springfield following the claims about Haitian migrants eating pets.
- Direct violence has been stoked by racist, anti-immigrant rhetoric in the past, and rhetoric against one immigrant group encourages violence against all immigrants. Just over five years ago, 23 people were massacred at a Walmart in El Paso, TX by a man trying to stop the “Hispanic invasion of Texas.” The perpetrator of a 2022 shooting in Buffalo, NY, targeted Black people and cited “the Great Replacement Theory.”
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
- Speak out against people propagating rumors about Haitian immigrants. What we say truly does matter.
- Find and support organizations working to support Haitian migrants like the Haitian Community Help & Support Center in Springfield (https://www.haitiansupportcenterspringfield.org/), SantLa (www.santla.org), Haitian Bridge Alliance (https://haitianbridgealliance.org), the latter of which has filed criminal charges against President Trump and Senator Vance for their role in spreading the conspiracy.
- Continue reading and educating yourself, especially with materials from Haitian voices. See “Haitian Americans Again Must Proclaim our Humanity” by Edwidge Danticat in the Washington Post.
SOURCES
“Trump Defends Baseless Springfield Pet-Eating Claim At Univision Town Hall—Here’s Where Debunked Conspiracy Theory Comes From,” by Conor Murray, Forbes, October 16, 2024.
“To the Point: What are the Consequences of Trump’s Immigration Misinformation?” by Ernesto Castaneda, American University College of Arts & Sciences, September 17, 2024.
“Biden administration gives temporary protected status to 309,000 more Haitian migrants,” by Julia Ainsley, NBC News, June 28, 2024.
“Father of 11-year-old killed in Ohio crash says Trump and Vance are using his son ‘as a political tool’ and asks for apologies,” by David Ingram, NBC News, September 10, 2024.
“Haitian Immigrants in the United States,” By Beatrice Dain and Jeanne Batalova, Migration Policy Institute, November 8, 2023.
“How an Ohio Town Landed in the Middle of the Immigration Debate,” by Miriam Jordan, New York Times, September 3, 2024.
“How Springfield, Ohio, took center stage in the election immigration debate,” by Jasmin Garsd, NPR, August 12, 2024.
“Five years after El Paso massacre targeting Latinos killed 23, ‘invasion’ rhetoric has amplified,” by Suzanne Gamboa, NBC News, August 2, 2024.
“HAITIAN BRIDGE ALLIANCE FILES CRIMINAL CHARGES AGAINST TRUMP AND VANCE IN SPRINGFIELD, OHIO,” Haiti Bridge Alliance, September 25, 2024.
“Temporary Protected Status: An Overview,” American Immigration Council.