As Americans address the influx of immigrants coming to this country, we must remember that the majority are law-abiding citizens seeking a better life.
Many immigrants are seeking refuge from war, famine, violence, poverty and more, and are hoping to settle in the United States to gain more opportunities and a semblance of safety.
However, some leaders such as former President Donald Trump, share a different narrative about immigrants.
“In Springfield, [Ohio] they’re eating the dogs, the people that came in,” Trump said during the Sept. 10 presidential debate against Vice President Kamala Harris, referring to Haitian immigrants. “They’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there. This is what’s happening in our country, and it’s a shame.”
Republican Ohio Governor Mike DeWine responded to these allegations by Trump, which are supported by his running mate Sen. J.D. Vance, and others.
“I think we should take the word of the city manager and the mayor that they’ve found no evidence of that story of Haitians eating pets,” DeWine said.
A spokesperson for the city of Springfield has also dispelled such divisive rumors, stating, there have been “no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals in the immigrant community.”
Further, most Haitians in Springfield legally reside in the United States.
Trump has a history of race-baiting. His track record of such divisiveness ranges from Trump and his father being sued in the early 1970s by the U.S. Justice Department, to taking out a full-page ad in the New York Times demanding the execution of five Black teenagers falsely accused of raping a white woman, to questioning the nationality of former President Barack Obama and the Blackness of Vice President Harris.
The White House, Congress, and state and local governments and businesses must address the challenges of the influx of immigrants into American cities with compassion, not falsehoods driven by racism.
It’s not fair, right or productive to spread lies about people. Trump often accuses others of lying about him (though with little factual support). Even if people don’t truly lie on Trump, his actions show that he doesn’t want lies spread about him.
As the saying goes, “Treat others as you want to be treated.”