Haitian immigrants might not be eating the dogs of Springfield, Ohio, but animal cruelty is another reason to secure our country’s southern border.
During the ABC presidential debate last week, former President Donald Trump claimed, in arguably his most memorable line of the debate, that Haitian immigrants have been stealing and eating cats and dogs.
“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats,” Trump said. “They’re eating, they’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”
These claims are unsubstantiated, but our country’s porous southern border enables animal cruelty for another reason: wildlife trafficking.
Illicit wildlife trafficking generates some $23 billion annually, making it one of the biggest illegal trades globally, behind drugs, human trafficking, and counterfeit goods, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Much of that illegal wildlife trafficking into the United States comes through our southern border via cities such as El Paso, Texas, and San Diego, California, according to Defenders of Wildlife. Then, the international criminal enterprises that profit from this endeavor disperse these animals and products throughout the country.
The wildlife trafficking industry typically involves illegally poaching wildlife in other countries and selling these animals for various purposes. In some instances, people take these kidnapped animals as exotic pets. Others eat exotic meats, use them for pseudoscientific Eastern medicine, or buy luxury goods made from exotic animal skin, fur, and feathers. Some animals even become scientific specimens. Sometimes, wildlife trafficking is how people obtain crocodile handbags, sea turtle boots, ivory jewelry, pet spider monkeys, or pangolin meat.
Since this illicit industry often targets endangered species, it heightens the risk of these animals going extinct and upsets the balance of ecosystems globally, especially in Latin America.
Unfortunately, our country fuels the demand for this illicit industry that results in the death and torture of innocent animals. The southern border is the perfect way for these criminals to gain access to Earth’s wealthiest country, where people have the spare cash to support this terrible industry.
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Along with illegal immigration, the opioid epidemic, sex trafficking, and modern slavery, preventing animal cruelty is one reason the country must put more resources toward securing its southern border. Measures the U.S. should take to mitigate these problems include hiring more Border Patrol agents, building more physical barriers, using more drones, and ending catch and release.
The U.S. should prevent heinous criminals, be it rapists, murderers, fentanyl dealers, sex traffickers, or even animal abusers, from coming here. Our politicians should provide us with a safe country that reflects American values and protects the most vulnerable among us, not one that imports cruelty against animals in desperate need of protection.
Tom Joyce (@TomJoyceSports) is a political reporter for the New Boston Post in Massachusetts.