Louis condemns racist comments targeting Haitians

Council Member Farah N. Louis (D-Brooklyn) on Friday strongly condemned the spread of false right-wing rhetoric, including by former US President Donald J. Trump and his Vice President running mate JD Vance, targeting Haitian migrants, and further escalating tensions and spreading misinformation.

The threats come amid bomb threats that have disrupted Springfield, Ohio schools.

On Friday, two elementary schools were evacuated and a middle school was closed in Springfield, Ohio, causing significant disruption to families and children.

“No community should have to endure this kind of terror, xenophobia and racism,” Louis, the daughter of Haitian and Bahamian immigrants, who represents the 45th Council District in Brooklyn, told Caribbean Life. “I stand in solidarity with the people of Springfield, as they navigate this alarming incident.

“These threats, fueled by hateful, disparaging and baseless lies against the Haitian immigrant community, are a direct result of dangerous rhetoric that has no place in our society,” she added. “JD Vance and former President Donald Trump have both proven they prioritize their own interests and dirty politics over the well-being of this country, showing themselves to be a disgrace to our democracy.

“Their comments have incited fear and jeopardized innocent lives,” Louis continued. “If anyone is harmed due to their irresponsible and disgusting remarks, they must be held accountable. As a Haitian-American, it deeply saddens me to see such fearmongering leads to real consequences for innocent people.

“We must come together as a nation to reject hate and focus on unity, ensuring that no one is targeted or vilified based on falsehoods,” she said. “I call on all Americans to stand against this wave of divisive and dangerous rhetoric. Haitians endured such hostility in the past, and we cannot allow history to repeat itself. Our focus must be on healing and protecting our communities, not tearing them apart.”

On Wednesday, Caribbean-American legislators also strongly denounced what they described as an anti-immigrant disinformation campaign surrounding Haitian migrants.

They noted that, on X, formerly Twitter, Vance has spread “bogus reports about Haitians, with absurd claims that ‘people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country.’”

“It’s truly sickening to see America’s most powerful prey on its most vulnerable through xenophobic, despicable disinformation,” Democratic Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, told Caribbean Life. “Though even acknowledging these heinous, anti-immigrant rumors is beneath our common decency, unfortunately, billionaires and extreme conservatives, aided by their allies in far-right media spaces, continue to give life to these dangerous, disproven lies.

“Their anti-immigrant prevarications are not only dangerous and inflammatory, they play on bigoted stereotypes that seek to isolate migrant families and foster hatred towards their communities,” added the representative for the predominantly Caribbean 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn. “Haitian migrants who escaped national repression do not deserve to be slandered by racist fearmongers while seeking safety in America.

“We each have a responsibility to reject those seeking to ignite tensions by sharing information they know to be false,” Clarke continued. “And we each have a moral obligation to stand for the truth, and stand with our Haitian American neighbors.”

Brooklyn Democratic Party Chair, Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, the first Haitian-American to lead a major party in New York City, also told Caribbean Life that, “The Trump Campaign keeps spreading disgusting and blatantly racist fake ‘news’ attacking immigrants, this time with VP contender JD Vance sharing absurd social media claims that Haitian immigrants are ‘abducting and eating’ people’s pets.

“The Trump-Vance Campaign repeatedly trying to spread hate and fear by painting Haitians and other immigrants as dangerous criminals with racist tropes shows why we must keep them out of office,” said the daughter of Haitian immigrants, who represents the 42nd Assembly District in Brooklyn. “Absurd online ‘reports’ are being legitimized and weaponized by MAGA Republicans.

“Make no mistake: JD Vance is trying to incite hatred from US citizens against Haitians while advancing Trump’s inhumane mass deportation policies,” she added. “As one of the largest Democratic organizations in the nation, the Brooklyn Democratic Party embraces our borough’s wonderfully diverse communities. That’s why I proudly support Kamala Harris, a daughter of immigrants, to become our nation’s first woman, first Black woman, and first Asian American President, as she keeps fighting to defend immigrants.

“Trump and Vance are using suffering immigrants as propaganda for racist rhetoric,” Bichotte Hermelyn continued. “Our nation knows better: Haitians formed the world’s first Free Black Republic, and their revolution led to the US’s expansion. They shed blood for our nation’s independence as soldiers in the Battle of Savannah, while Jean Baptiste Point du Sable founded Chicago, and, today, Haitian immigrants serve as doctors, engineers, and myriad roles, making America better.

“Let’s keep America a beacon of freedom and hope at the ballot boxes,” she urged.

Haitian-born New York City Council Member Mercedes Narcisse joined in condemning the “harmful anti-Haitian rhetoric”, saying “enough is enough.”

“As a proud Haitian immigrant, I am deeply disappointed that our political discourse has sunk to such a low, once again targeting Haitians with baseless and harmful lies,” said the representative for the 46th Council District in Brooklyn. “Our community has endured so much, from overcoming social and political struggles to fighting stereotypes that have caused real harm.

“When I was younger, many of us were bullied because of the false narrative that AIDS started in Haiti,” added the registered nurse by training. “Now, I fear for the next generation of young Haitian-American children who may face similar bullying due to these new, damaging lies.

“Enough is enough,” Narcisse stressed. “We must raise the standards of our political conversations and focus on facts, not fear-mongering.

She said while the migrant issue is “real and requires thoughtful, compassionate solutions,” it is, however, “disgraceful that some elected leaders choose to appeal to the lowest common denominator among us, by spreading falsehoods that not only divide us but also harm innocent people.

“They should be ashamed,” Narcisse said. “It is time to unite, reject these lies, and work together toward real solutions that honor our shared humanity.”

In his first nationally-televised debate with Harris Tuesday night, Trump said that, in Springfield, Ohio, migrants, including Haitians, are “eating the dogs. 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,” he added. “And it’s a shame.”

But one of the moderators, ABC News Anchor David Muir, said: “ABC News did reach out to the city manager there. He told us there have been no credible reports of specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.”

Trump, however, retorted: “Well, I’ve seen people on television. The people on television say my dog was taken and used for food. So, maybe he said that and maybe that’s a good thing to say for a city manager.

“But the people on television say their dog was eaten by the people that went there,” Trump insisted.

Harris, however, responded: “Talk about extreme. Um, you know, this is I think one of the reasons why in this election I actually have the endorsement of 200 Republicans who have formally worked with President Bush, Mitt Romney, and John McCain including the endorsement of former Vice President Dick Cheney and Congressmember Liz Cheney.

“And if you want to really know the inside track on who the former president is, if he didn’t make it clear already, just ask people who have worked with him,” Harris said. “His former chief of staff, a four-star general, has said he has contempt for the constitution of the United States. His former national security adviser has said he is dangerous and unfit. His former secretary of defense has said the nation, the republic would never survive another Trump term.

“And when we listen to this kind of rhetoric, when the issues that affect the American people are not being addressed, I think the choice is clear in this election,” she added.

Vance, however, said Tuesday night that while it’s possible that his claim about Haitian migrants may be false, his supporters must continue posting “cat memes.”

“In the last several weeks, my office has received many inquiries from actual residents of Springfield who’ve said their neighbors’ pets or local wildlife were abducted by Haitian migrants,” he posted on X. “It’s possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false.”

A spokesperson for the City of Springfield, Ohio confirmed in a statement: “There have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.”

In remarks at a Brunch at the White House on Friday, in Celebration of Black Excellence, US President Joe Biden denounced the attacks on Haitian as “simply wrong”.

“There’s no place in America.  This has to stop, what he’s doing,” he said, clearly referring to Trump. “It has to stop (applause).”

But Trump has declined to tone down his racist rhetoric on Friday, pledging to conduct mass deportations from Springfield, if he is elected in the Nov. 5 Presidential Elections.

He claimed that Haitian immigrants in Springfield were “destroying” citizens’ “way of life.”

“We’re going to get these people out,” Mr. Trump told reporters during a campaign stop in California.

“We’re going to have the largest deportation in the history of our country, and we’re going to start with Springfield and Aurora,” he added, alluding to a city in Colorado, where he also falsely claimed that Venezuelan gangs are “taking over buildings.”