Clergy, social justice activists and other community leaders are urging residents of Springfield, Ohio, to resist the fear Donald Trump and running mate JD Vance are spreading by slandering Haitian and other immigrants who have settled in the city.
During his Sept. 10 debate with Democratic challenger Kamala Harris, Trump claimed Haitian immigrants are “eating the pets” of Springfield residents. Vance has continued to defend the accusations despite admitting they are untrue.
Denise Williams
In response, Springfield leaders are calling for unity in condemning the anti-immigrant rhetoric, including rumors the 20,000 Haitians who arrived during the past decade entered the nation and city illegally and are stealing jobs and affordable housing from Americans. The baseless allegations have drawn white supremacist groups to the area and spawned bomb threats across the city.
“We cannot embrace violence. We will not embrace hatred. We are a city of love, a city of compassion, and what is happening in our city right now is absolutely unbelievable. I am calling on Trump, I am calling on JD Vance to retract their messages and to offer an apology to the city,” Springfield NAACP President Denise Williams said during a press conference led by local ministers.
“It is time to dispel the rumors. No, they (Haitian immigrants) are not stealing from Walmart. No, the reason why (retail store) cabinets are locked is not because we have Haitians here. They have been locked for years. No, they are not eating cats and dogs. We haven’t seen one account of that,” she added.
“Just because their skin is dark doesn’t mean they are here to destroy our city.”
Assumptions the city’s Haitian residents are taking from the community and not giving back must be smashed, she urged. “You have Haitians here who are engineers and business people. They are raising families just like we are. Just because their skin is dark doesn’t mean they are here to destroy our city. The hatred needs to end. And I am here with the clergy, with the friends of the community, with my pastors because we don’t need negative remarks made about our city.”
Separately, Florida state Rep. Dottie Joseph characterized the Trump campaign’s attack on Haitians as an effort to distract voters with fear about the “great replacement,” a white supremacist conspiracy theory that people of color seek to breed whites out of existence.
Dotie Joseph
Another term is “scapegoating,” she said, “an age-old political tactic used to deflect from the (usually economic) policy failures of politicians. People across the United States are suffering from failed economic policies, some of which are highlighted in Springfield.”
“Instead of doing the things the Bible instructs us to do — like care for the poor, welcome the foreigner and treat them like our native born, defend the cause of the widow and orphan — we have a class of money changers in all the houses of government that are focused on protecting the rights of the rich landowner, and not the people,” Joseph asserted.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, described Trump’s pet-eating accusations as “garbage” and announced Sept. 16 he was dispatching 36 state troopers to guard the city’s public schools in the wake of anti-immigrant bomb threats.
“None of the threats that have come in to Springfield to date have been legitimate. We’re doing this purely as a precaution to prevent further disruption within the Springfield City School District,” the governor’s office announced.
But it is understandable how a significant influx of migrants can cause tension in a community, Christ Episcopal Church Rector Michelle Boomgaard said during the press briefing.
“The challenge is that that tension has erupted into hatred. Yes, we have had a lot of population growth, but let’s also talk about who has come here. The overwhelming majority of the immigrants who have arrived in Springfield, and I’m talking 98% to 99% of the folks who are here, are here legally,” she said.
“Not only are they here legally, but of those people who are here legally, the vast majority had permission to set foot in the United States before their first toe touched U.S. soil. They are all in Springfield legally.”
Once in the country, many learned Springfield was a welcoming community where they could pursue the American dream, said Boomgaard, adding their stories remind her of Jesus’ refugee status as a newborn.
Adam Banks
“His parents took him to Egypt for a sojourn and nobody went and told him to get out, which was a very good thing because he is our Lord and Savior. We come to witness to the love of Jesus Christ, a love that says that we should love all, that we should care for all, that we should raise up all because that is what we are called to do.”
First Baptist Church Pastor Adam Banks said the controversy is an opportunity to better understand the parable of the Good Samaritan. In the story, Jesus challenges his disciples to find it in themselves to love the Samaritans they despise. But now it is immigrants who need grace from Jesus’ followers, Banks said.
“If we will recognize the ways in which our immediate salvation, our right-now well-being, our earthly redemption, is directly tied to those that we despise, that we disagree with, then I believe we move toward that moment when we are all able to celebrate the light and the love that is possible.”
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