As a Ghanaian-Canadian immigrant in Ohio, I’m especially attentive to what has become a national story about Haitian immigrants in Springfield.
Since I live just an hour from the city, I considered making a social media post about the story earlier this week. But since I hadn’t investigated the claims for myself, I decided to be slow to speak—or slow to write.
I’m grateful for that. Because like most people—leftists and conservatives—I would have repeated untruthful and unhelpful claims on an issue that is making a big impact on a small city.
Usually, when the Left and the Right have differing views on an issue—one side is wrong and the other is Right. But sometimes, both sides are wrong. That is the case with what is happening in Springfield. The biggest voices on the Left and the Right are wrong about Springfield.
Leftists have been quick to dismiss the real issues in Springfield and conservatives have been just as fast to sensationalise it. I know some conservatives do not want to hear this, but the truth is, we have become guilty of much of what we hate about the Left.
It seems like many of us are willing to pause discernment on claims that draw attention to real issues, especially in the middle of a crucial presidential election.
Many Republican voters are convinced Haitian immigrants in Springfield are eating people’s cats and dogs. To my shame, I also initially believed the accusations. Donald Trump mentioned the claims in the presidential debate earlier this week, and it’s since become maybe the biggest topic in America.
But after doing research, including talking to godly, trustworthy people I know in the Springfield area, it’s evident that the claims are malicious lies.
The origins of the false accusations stem from a real case about a woman in Canton, Ohio who was arrested last month for killing and eating a cat. The woman is a black citizen, not a Haitian immigrant. Also, Canton is almost three hours away from Springfield.
Seemingly, some people on the Right discovered this case and used it to make horrible claims about Haitian immigrants in Springfield.
That, however, doesn’t mean leftists are right to ignore the frustrations of citizens in Springfield. As my friend Darvio Morrow says in his latest article for Newsweek:
“The real story of Springfield, Ohio’s refugee crisis is not about cats and dogs. It is the story of a town…once again being forced to clean up a mess perpetuated by the federal government.”
As suggested by Darvio, contrary to popular myth, the vast majority of Haitian immigrants in Springfield are not illegal immigrants. So the crisis isn’t caused by the Biden-Harris administration’s open border policies. Instead, it’s a result of their inclination to prioritize their leftist agenda over the needs of citizens, and subsequently, the needs of refugees.
The accusations against Haitian immigrants highlight residents’ frustrations with the socioeconomic strains of refugees in their small city. Primarily because of the crisis in Haiti, the federal government added 20,000 immigrants to the city’s 60,000 population in less than four years.
The federal government has rescued refugees from one crisis in Haiti only to create another crisis in a small city in America. I want my immigration to America to bless my neighbours, not curse them. From what I’ve been told by trustworthy people in the Springfield area, most Haitian immigrants in the city share my sentiments.
However, the Biden-Harris administration has adopted an immigration policy that creates tensions between immigrants and citizens. From what I’ve been told, because of these tensions—just as some citizens are fearful of the Haitian immigrants, the Haitian immigrants have also become afraid of the citizens. Some Haitian families have taken their children out of schools because of this, especially after bomb threats this week.
The Left (including the media) is willing to lie to win elections; if the Right repays evil for evil and forsakes the pursuit of truth for the same goal: there will be no hope for America. When both sides in a culture war abandon truth, evil prevails.
Since lies beget more lies, a popular X account shared a video saying:
“The Haitian immigrants are indeed eating animals. Let me tell you something about these people. Not only are they harvesting cats for food, but also for witchcraft purposes, voodoo purposes.”
That video has over 4 million views and 81,000 likes. Laura Loomer also made a new claim that Haitian immigrants are cannibals. She said:
“Haitian immigrants aren’t just eating cats and dogs. They eat HUMANS…Don’t let the media say that concerns about illegal immigration are “conspiracy theories”. These aren’t rumors. It’s a FACT. When you import the third world, you become the third world, and we won’t allow it here in America. Donald Trump will stop our country from further becoming a third world nation.”
These lies are a distraction from the real issues. Instead of focusing on how the Biden-Harris administration’s immigration policies are harming people, the Right is making baseless accusations about how their immigration policies are harming pets.
The real story in Springfield is that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have forced an impoverished community in a small city to care for immigrants who make up one-fourth of the city’s population. As a result, these new immigrants are struggling to assimilate.
Perhaps that isn’t sensational enough in the middle of a pivotal presidential election. But it’s the truth.
If our opposition to the Democrat’s immigration policies is right, we do not need to resort to lies. The truth will set America free from Kamala Harris, not lies.