Haitian Americans in Illinois, including Attorney General Kwame Raoul, called former President Donald Trump's amplification of a false rumor about Haitian immigrants in Ohio eating pets “dangerous” to a community that has already suffered trauma in their country of origin.
During Tuesday’s debate, Trump brought up a false claim from the far right that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were stealing pets to eat. When moderator David Muir interrupted to say there were no credible reports of the claim, Trump responded by saying that “people on television are saying, ‘My dog was taken and used for food.’” Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris responded with a laugh and said, “Talk about extremism.”
Raul, the son of Haitian immigrants, called Trump's reference to the false claim “an attempt to incite excessive fear.”
“This was a reflection of his incompetence and instability,” Raul said.
Raoult said it was also an insult to Haitians who had already experienced instability in their home country — something he called dangerous “because others are blindly following and will repeat it.” Gangs have overrun Port-au-Prince, where more than 578,000 Haitians have fled their homes since 2021. The country’s airport and major hospitals have also been closed.
“We are at a time when conditions in Haiti in particular are dire, there is instability there, and that undoubtedly leads to people wanting to emigrate, but also the hatred that can come toward people who have been through so much trauma,” Raoul said. “And the hundreds of thousands of Haitian-Americans like me, who contribute to the country, could be targeted.”
Raúl also spoke out in 2018 when Trump called Haiti, El Salvador and African countries “shithole countries,” calling the former president “unfit” and “unfamiliar with the history of this country.”
Marlene Julien, a Haitian-American who has lived in the United States for 35 years, said Trump's amplification of false rumors is a way to “dehumanize” Haitians and divide Americans.
The decision also angered Marilyn Julien, a Haitian who has lived in America for 35 years. She called the decision a way for Trump and Republicans to divide people — and said it specifically targets a humanitarian program under President Joe Biden that allowed Haitian Americans to come to the United States legally because of the unrest in the country.
“I’m not a very political person, but I think it’s a way to dehumanize us, for sure. It’s a way to divide people,” Julian said. “They’re coming in legally, and I think that’s what the Republicans are doing, they started this to show how immigrants start eating cats when the border is open, just like he was saying Mexicans are rapists. That’s exactly what he’s doing, but this time, he’s taking advantage of us.”
Since he began his first presidential campaign in 2015, Trump has described Mexican immigrants as criminals and rapists.
Julianne, who employs 50 people in Haiti, runs a translation company called Creole Solutions in Skokie. She came to the United States when she was 10, and said the former president’s claim is particularly upsetting to her because it could hurt her children.
“I’m very upset, because I have two children, two Haitian-American children, and I remember in the ’80s when I was in high school, kids would make fun of me. They would say that Haitians had AIDS, and that had a real impact on me as a Haitian, and I think it would have the same impact on Haitian-American children in school or even people who get jobs here. It’s very frustrating.”
For Aline Lautour, a board member of the Du Sable Heritage Association, the lies about Haitian immigrants hit her like a “punch in the stomach” because she grew up in Haiti until she was 15 and still has some family there.
“I haven’t cried yet, but I’m so angry I could cry,” she said. “Don’t bother checking the facts. Don’t bother calling the police department, the mayor, organizations. You have a campaign staff and you’re spreading this lie?”
Lautor has worked with Haitian immigrants in the area as the program manager for immigrants and migrant affairs with the Haitian Congress for Haiti Immunization. The organization helps connect resources to those arriving in the Chicago area. She says the common thread among those fleeing gang violence and poverty in Haiti is a desire to work.
“They didn’t just decide, ‘OK, I’m going to run.’ These are people who have jobs, schools that are working, and everybody has a life,” Lotor said. “They want a better life, they want to make sure their kids get an education, they want security in their neighborhoods. There’s a way here. They come here and they want to work. The first thing they’re going to ask you is, ‘Can you please help me get my work permit?’ before they ask you anything else.”
