The demonizing of immigrants in the 2024 presidential race has hit new lows that should make all Americans ashamed.
That a major party presidential ticket would claim — without evidence — that Haitian immigrants are stealing and eating the cats and dogs of their neighbors is an example of what happens when a campaign is sinking. The viral claim also reveals what happens when social media posts replace policy discussions as the center of debate in our elections. Misinformation drowns out truth, and we are poorer for it.
Last week, when Kamala Harris and Donald Trump debated in Philadelphia, the former president introduced the falsehood during an exchange about immigration. First ABC moderator David Muir asked Harris why she and the Biden administration had waited until six months before the election to propose border legislation. That’s a tough, but fair, question. Harris, as she did all night, used the question to bait her opponent, telling people to attend one of his rallies. She also did not give a direct answer, which other reporters should press for as the campaign goes on.
Here’s part of what Harris said that drew out Trump’s lies: “You will see during the course of his rallies he talks about fictional characters like Hannibal Lecter. He will talk about windmills cause cancer. And what you will also notice is that people start leaving his rallies early out of exhaustion and boredom.â€
That mention of boredom and people leaving triggered Trump — as it was meant to. He likely isn’t watching live video demonstrating the truth of her statement, since he dislikes the truth. Asked why he told GOP members of Congress to kill the border bill backed by President Joe Biden, Trump rambled, saying at one point: “People don’t leave my rallies. We have the biggest rallies, the most incredible rallies in the history of politics. That’s because people want to take their country back. Our country is being lost. We’re a failing nation.â€
Incredibly, he then switched to talking about the effects of immigration on towns across America, focusing on Springfield, Ohio. There, some 15,000 migrants from Haiti — most here legally — have relocated. About them, Trump repeated a debunked social media claim: “They’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there, and this is what’s happening in our country, and it’s a shame.â€
What truly is a shame is that someone who wants to be president — someone who has been president — is targeting the most vulnerable among us. The Haitian refugees are here because of turmoil in their country, most allowed under Temporary Protected Status by the Biden administration. Springfield is a Midwestern town that had been suffering from declining population, losing some 20,000 residents between 1970 and the early 2000s, according to census numbers. Median income in greater Springfield had dropped by 27%, with the region devastated because manufacturing jobs had moved to Mexico or Asia.
With the arrival of Haitians, the town’s population is growing and the town is reviving. At the same time, the presence of so many newcomers has increased rents and strained social services. The tensions are real, but dealing with actual complications because of cultural differences and a concentration of immigrants is vastly different from repeating racist tropes used against immigrants in this country since the 19th century. It is hateful, un-Christian and dangerous. So far, bomb threats have been reported in Springfield at city hall. Parents were asked to pick up their children at elementary schools last week because of threats. Particularly cruel, the parents of a child killed in a bus accident involving a Haitian driver have begged politicians to stop using their son’s death to spread hate. Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, are not listening. They have doubled down.
Immigration is a complex, difficult subject, one the United States has failed to deal with for decades under leaders from both parties. The country needs to stop wasting time on viral social media lies and meet the challenges of migration head on. It is a global phenomenon, increasing because of changing climate, war and violence. Migration must be managed. It won’t be stopped.
Vance, a convert to Catholicism, would do well to listen to the leader of his faith, Pope Francis. Here’s what he said last month: “It needs to be said clearly: There are those who systematically work by all means to drive away migrants, and this, when done knowingly and deliberately, is a grave sin.â€
A grave sin that is causing great harm, while failing to address the problem.
The ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe New Mexican observes its 175th anniversary with a series highlighting some of the major stories and figures that have appeared in the paper's pages through its history. The collection also includes archival photo galleries.
