A quiet Midwestern community has become the latest battleground over immigration after Republicans leveled unfounded claims that Haitians were kidnapping and eating neighbors’ pets.
The city of Springfield, Ohio, had roughly 60,000 residents as of 2022. In the two years since then, thousands of migrants have arrived, mostly from Haiti. Although some have welcomed the new neighbors, others have lamented the change and said it has taken a toll on city resources.
The debate had been a quiet one, largely confined to the residents who make up the community. But concerns over their arrival spilled into the spotlight this past week after former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), amplified the abduction claims.
City officials have stressed that there is no evidence to support the claims that migrants are killing neighborhood animals, but Trump helped bring the rumors to national attention when he vowed to “find” those perpetrating the supposed abductions during his Tuesday debate against Vice President Kamala Harris.
Sophia Pierrelus, a Haitian immigrant who has lived in the United States for years and runs a Facebook page that helps connect and assist Haitian immigrants in Springfield, said on Wednesday that she feels under attack.
“Right now, the Haitian community, including myself, are a target,” Pierrelus said in a video posted to the page’s 3,200 followers. “Haitian people, we don’t eat dogs, by the way. And like so many other ethnicities I’ve seen eating frogs, dogs, and other stuff, we do not even care or even speculate about these type of things. Because every culture has their own ways of eating the type of food in their cultures.”