"They're Eating Dogs": Haitian Florida Rep. Rebukes False Trump Claims

During Tuesday night's presidential debate, former president Donald Trump repeated an unfounded rumor that Haitian immigrants are abducting pets and eating them in Springfield, Ohio.

"In Springfield, they're eating the dogs," Trump claimed. "The people that came in, they're eating the cats. They're eating — 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."

On Monday, conservative talking heads and Republican lawmakers including Trump's running mate, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas spread outlandish claims that immigrants living in Springfield are eating their neighbors' pets. 

"Months ago, I raised the issue of Haitian illegal immigrants draining social services and generally causing chaos all over Springfield, Ohio," Vance posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. "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?"

Despite officials' insistence that there is no evidence of migrants abducting and eating pets, Trump amplified the false claim on the debate stage on national television.

U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who represents Florida's 20th congressional district, tells New Times that Trump's fearmongering comments are destructive to Black minorities and immigrants. A first-generation Haitian-American, Cherfilus-McCormick is the first Black legislator to represent the district, which includes swaths of western and central Broward County and a portion of Palm Beach County.

"When J.D. Vance started this, it was absolutely disgusting. Because he's making these comments and he's well aware that they're unfounded and they're not true," she says. "And for Donald Trump to go ahead and lean into it and continue to make these comments — which clearly the intention is to dehumanize the Haitian migrants, but what's even worse is that he's trying to scare people into voting for him."

A Springfield newspaper traced the rumors to a Facebook group in which a poster "claimed that their neighbor’s daughter’s friend had lost her cat and found it hanging from a branch at a Haitian neighbor’s home being carved up to be eaten," and that "police told them that 'they have been doing it'" at a local public park with ducks and geese.

Springfield, home to roughly 60,000 residents according to the 2020 U.S. Census, has experienced an influx of 15,000 to 20,000 legal Haitian migrants fleeing gang violence and turmoil in their home country.

Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck said his office has not received any "credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured, or abused by individuals within the immigrant community." The city's police department likewise noted that it has not received any reports.

A day after Vance spread the racist conspiracy theory, he backhandedly acknowledged that it could be false.

"It's possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false...," Vance posted on X, adding, "In short, don't let the crybabies in the media dissuade you, fellow patriots. Keep the cat memes flowing."

Cherfilus-McCormick says spreading such falsehoods and creating fictitious characters and storylines are part of the Trump camp's plan to stoke fear in the nation ahead of the November election.

She worries it will result in harm to migrant communities.

"It's dangerous for our country because we can't forget what this is attached to," she tells New Times. "These are the same people who were fearmongering, saying they are coming into Congress, and they were looking for Nancy Pelosi. These people don't just make comments. They actually act on it. He's talking about the Proud Boys. He's calling for the militias. These are intentional acts to harm. These are who we're talking about. We're not talking about people who just call you names and go back to sleep. These people are doing it to incite action."

Cherfilus-McCormick notes it is particularly outrageous that Vance is repeating the claims considering that his wife is the daughter of immigrants and knows how hard immigrants work.

"If you hear the actual businesspeople who are in Ohio, they actually have been welcoming Haitian people," the congresswoman says. "If you understand the Haitian culture, Haitian culture is very anti-drugs, very pro-education, very pro-Christianity and Catholocism, and very pro-succeeding."

Adds Cherfilus-McCormick: "As a first-generation American, my parents always said, 'Don't embarrass me. Work your hearts. Prove and show people who we are,' and this our opportunity to stand up and show them who we are, instead of allowing them to perpetuate these false narratives."