The Haitian Equation: 20,000 = Too Many
Members of the media were quick to “debunk” President Trump’s claim at Tuesday night’s debate that Haitian migrants were eating people’s cats, but as Douglass Mackey pointed out on X, those claims haven’t been debunked:
Despite what the media is saying, the Haitian migrants eating cats in Ohio rumor has not been “debunked.” The only thing “debunked” is that the police are claiming that no police reports have been filed. (To my knowledge, nobody has investigated to see whether or not the police are telling the truth. One could do so by filing open records requests.)
Earlier this year, a Haitian woman in FL was arrested for burning a cat alive in the backyard […]
Given these stories and what we know about the practice of voodoo in Haiti, the idea that recent migrants in Ohio would capture and eat local pets (or ritually sacrifice them) seems far from debunked.
Trump’s running mate J.D. Vance, who represents Ohio in the U.S. Senate, made a similar point. He also expanded it to note some proven negative consequences of Haitian migration:
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. It’s possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false.
Do you know what’s confirmed? That a child was murdered by a Haitian migrant who had no right to be here. That local health services have been overwhelmed. That communicable diseases–like TB and HIV–have been on the rise. That local schools have struggled to keep up with newcomers who don’t know English. That rents have risen so fast that many Springfield families can’t afford to put a roof over their head.
Vance reiterated this skillfully in response to a CNN anchor after the debate: