Democrats are launching a campaign to combat the false claims by top Republicans accusing Haitian immigrants in Ohio of eating their neighbors’ pets by introducing a new House resolution to condemn racism and bigotry toward the demographic.
Unveiled Friday by the House Haiti Caucus, the resolution would celebrate the “vast contributions of people of Haitian descent” and “condemn the spread of misinformation.” The measure was introduced by Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL).
During a press conference on Friday, Democrats said these false narratives, pushed forward by former President Donald Trump and Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), are making Haitian immigrants the target of aggression and violent threats. Many attendees held signs that said “condemn Haitian hate” and “protect Haitian families.”
“They have chosen to spew racist and xenophobic lies as a political tool and weaponize rhetoric to place innocent families in harm’s way,” said Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY), one of three co-chairwomen of the Haiti Caucus.
Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV) echoed Clarke’s comments, stating that the baseless claims have forced Haitian communities to “live in fear because of a lie.”
The Springfield, Ohio, community, where the rumors that migrants were eating pets originated, has received bomb threats that used “hateful language” toward migrants and Haitians, in particular. The claims reached a national level when Vance posted on social media that Springfield residents “have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country.”
“Where is our border czar?” he asked, referring to the unofficial moniker given to Harris as Vance and Republicans continue to hit Harris and the administration over the border crisis. The claims that migrants are eating pets are the latest news peg that conservatives are using to highlight the effects of illegal immigrants, including violence against women and an increase in crime.
Springfield officials have denied the claims, but Trump caused further backlash from Democrats after he repeated them on the debate stage against Harris on Sept. 10.
“We can only hope and pray that the false and racist rhetoric by the former president and his running mate and other extremists do not lead to violence — in Springfield or any other Haitian or immigrant community,” Horsford said at the conference Friday. “Enough is enough. The racist fearmongering must stop, and it must stop now.”
Frost slammed GOP politicians for repeating the unfounded claims, particularly Vance when he said on CNN last week that if he has to “create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do.”
“We’ve seen this before. Authoritarian leaders picking a community, making lies about them, and then turning to their base and saying, ‘If you’re scared, vote for me,’” Frost said Friday. “We’re here to say that this is racism, this is bigotry, and it should be automatically disqualifying for any elected official to bring this up.”
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While some House Republicans like Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH), who represents Springfield, are arguing that Trump and Vance “have moved on” from this storyline, Democrats are not convinced. They highlighted Trump’s immigration policies and worked to tie them to Project 2025, a conservative planning agenda that the former president has distanced himself from — including a recommendation that would eliminate a temporary protected status that is held by many legal Haitian immigrants.
“Haitian migrants, who escaped national repression, do not deserve to be slandered by racist fearmongers while seeking safety in our country,” Clarke said Friday.