NEW YORK, CMC – New York City Council Member Farah N. Louis on Friday strongly condemned the spread of false rhetoric targeting Haitian migrants, 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, New York, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC). “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 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 lead 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 divisive and dangerous rhetoric wave. Haitians endured such hostility in the past, and we cannot allow history to repeat itself. We must focus 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 CMC. “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 CMC 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.
“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 condemned the “harmful anti-Haitian rhetoric”, saying, “Enough is enough.”
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 Haitians as “simply wrong.”
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