Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance attacked a different kind of “cat lady” on Monday, falsely claiming in a social media post that immigrants were eating pets in a small Ohio city.
“Months ago, I raised the issue of Haitian illegal immigrants draining social services and generally causing chaos all over Springfield, Ohio,” Vance wrote on X. “Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn't be in this country. Where is our border czar?
All of this is a lie. No pets are being eaten. The town is not in chaos. And the Haitian immigrants in Springfield are in the country legally.
What’s disgusting is the behavior of Vance and others pushing this xenophobic horror story.
Vance’s post came after a post in a Springfield Facebook group went viral across social media. Despite assurances from the Springfield police department that there were no unusual reports of pets going missing, much less being eaten, the claim was amplified on X by Elon Musk, who stated, "Apparently, people's pet cats are being eaten."
This follows a previous incident in which a Springfield resident claimed, without evidence, that Haitians were decapitating and eating ducks in a city park. That story was picked up and widely repeated by right-wing news outlets.
Vance has repeatedly pointed at Springfield as an example of a town being overrun by immigrants. He even features the town on his campaign site in which he claims “this immigration problem” is draining the town’s social services.
However, in August, NPR visited Springfield to investigate the claims being made by Vance and other Republicans. What they found was that there were legitimate concerns in the city about housing. That’s because Springfield grew from a population of around 60,000 to 75,000-80,000 over the last four years, after the availability of jobs—many of them at a local steel manufacturing plant—drew immigrants to the city. In addition, Springfield was facing a burden due to translation, with both the local hospital and police saying that service had been slowed down by the lack of translators.
Additionally, the City of Springfield confirms that the Haitian immigrants are in the town legally. Because of the ongoing conflict in Haiti, immigrants qualify for Temporary Protected Status.
While not everyone in Springfield is thrilled with the influx of immigrants, the city’s issues appear primarily related to the town’s rapid growth. The owner of the local steel plant insists that he was having trouble filling the jobs in Springfield and is grateful to the immigrants for moving to the area, according to NPR.
There is no evidence of chaos—or pet-eating.
Undeterred, the local Republican Party has xenophobically made the immigrants a symbol of the problems with the immigration system and repeated claims that they represent a threat to the community.
“Some of the Haitians are gang members”, GOP committee woman Glenda Bailey told NPR. “I've seen them.”
How she knows they’re gang members isn’t explained. Regardless, the local police told NPR there’s no evidence of Haitian gangs in the town.
Bailey went on to declare that the immigrants were “occupiers” and that they had “replaced the population” of Springfield—language that alludes to the racist “great replacement” conspiracy theory, which Republicans regularly use to anger and mobilize white voters. That the Haitians represent an influx of Black residents into a town that was largely white four years ago only makes it easier to sell that fear.
Haitians have not “replaced” any population. They have only added to it. And many residents are excited to see the city growing and evolving.
"I think it's sad that some people are using this as an opportunity to spread hate or spread fear," police officer Jason Via, the deputy director of public safety and operations, told NPR. "We get these reports 'the Haitians are killing ducks in a lot of our parks' or 'the Haitians are eating vegetables right out of the aisle at the grocery store'. And we haven't really seen any of that. It's really frustrating. As a community, it's not helpful as we try to move forward.”
The false stories of pets being eaten, of animals being killed in parks, and of general chaos in the streets of Springfield all serve a purpose. They allow Vance, Trump, and other Republicans to dehumanize immigrants. To “other” them. To present them as violent, primitive, and threatening.
It’s all a lie. But don’t expect them to admit this.
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