The falsehoods about Springfield’s Haitian immigrants were spread online by Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, on the eve of Tuesday’s debate between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
In this image taken from video, Rose-Thamar Joseph, from the Haitian Community Help and Support Center, speaks to The Associated Press, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Springfield, Ohio. SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Many cities have been reshaped by immigrants in the last few years without attracting much notice. Not Springfield, Ohio.
A “Welcome To Our City” sign hangs from a parking garage downtown, where a coffee shop, bakery and boutique line the main drag, North Fountain Street. A flag advertising “CultureFest,” which the city describes as an annual celebration of unity through diversity, waves from a pole nearby. Ariel Dominique, executive director of the Haitian American Foundation for Democracy, said she laughed at times in recent days at the absurdity of the false claims. But seeing the comments repeated on national television by the former president was painful.
Springfield, about 45 miles from the state capital of Columbus, suffered a steep decline in its manufacturing sector toward the end of the last century, and its population shrank as a result. But its downtown has been revitalized in recent years as more Haitians arrived and helped meet the rising demand for labor as the economy emerged from the pandemic. Officials say Haitians now account for about 15% of the population.
On Monday, Vance posted on X “Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country. Where is our border czar?” The next day, he posted again on X about Springfield, saying his office had received inquiries from residents who said “their neighbors’ pets or local wildlife were abducted by Haitian migrants. It’s possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false.
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An Ohio city reshaped by Haitian immigrants lands in an unwelcome spotlightRepublican presidential nominee Donald Trump has brought attention to Springfield, Ohio, by airing false allegations that immigrants are abducting and eating…
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An Ohio city reshaped by Haitian immigrants lands in an unwelcome spotlightRepublican presidential nominee Donald Trump has brought attention to an Ohio city by airing false allegations that immigrants are abducting and eating pets.
Read more »
An Ohio city reshaped by Haitian immigrants lands in an unwelcome spotlightRepublican presidential nominee Donald Trump has brought attention to an Ohio city by airing false allegations that immigrants are abducting and eating pets.
Read more »