“I ain’t never seen a Haitian do that before,” one migrant said.
Two Haitian migrants have responded to allegations about members of the community eating pets and park birds in Springfield, Ohio.
The accusations—debunked by city officials—spread on social media over the weekend before they were repeated by Donald Trump during his presidential debate with Kamala Harris on Tuesday night.
Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, has repeated the accusations several times, saying his office had received “many inquiries from actual residents of Springfield who’ve said their neighbors’ pets or local wildlife were abducted by Haitian migrants.” However, he also added: “It’s possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false.”
Springfield City has issued a statement saying there have been “no credible reports” of pets being harmed by the Haitian community.
The Ohio bureau of USA Today spoke to some Haitians living in Springfield, which has seen its Haitian population grow by around 15,000-20,000 in the last four years per city authorities.
Alimemby Estimable said: “I’ve been seeing a lot of people talking about a lot of stuff that’s not accurate. You know, saying, like, all Haitians are cutting ducks’ necks and eating them at the park and like, they’re running into trash cans and homes and stuff. I ain’t never seen a Haitian do that before.
