Far from Ohio, Haitian Americans feel the sting of threats in Springfield

Haitian Americans in the United States this week condemned former President Donald J. Trump and his running mate for spreading unfounded, racist rumors about a Haitian community in Ohio.

By spreading debunked rumors about Haitian immigrants in Springfield kidnapping and eating pets, Trump and others have stoked anger and endangered Haitians and many other people, said Karl Racine, who served two terms as attorney general for the District of Columbia and immigrated to the United States from Haiti at age 6.

“It may seem like just politics,” said Mr. Racine, 61. “But it is serious business, with the real possibility of violence.”

Since Trump’s comments, which his campaign has echoed, Springfield has received dozens of bomb threats, many targeting schools and colleges, and in some cases specifically targeting Haitians. On Tuesday, state troopers were deployed to the city’s schools to ensure students were safe.

Mr. Racine, who made combating hate a centerpiece of his term as president of the National Association of Attorneys General, said he was “appalled” by the behavior of the Republican candidates. He said their vitriol “dehumanized and diminished” the immigrants of Springfield, Ohio, who had filled jobs and infused new energy into impoverished neighborhoods.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are approximately 1.2 million people of Haitian descent living in the United States. Since Haitians arrived in the 1950s amid political unrest in their homeland, many of them, and many of their U.S.-born children, have climbed the socioeconomic ladder and integrated into American society.

The number of Haitians entering the United States has surged in recent years. Hundreds of thousands have crossed the border or taken advantage of a Biden administration program that allows them temporary entry if they have a U.S. sponsor. Many of the newcomers take blue-collar jobs as home health aides, warehouse workers and factory workers, joining a Haitian diaspora that also includes doctors, entertainers, lawyers and professional athletes.

Markenzy Lapointe, a Haitian immigrant and former Marine, is the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida and will oversee the federal prosecution of the man charged this week in connection with what authorities call the attempted assassination of Trump.

In Florida, where some 440,000 people of Haitian descent live, Haitian Americans serve on city and county commissions, the state legislature and Congress. New York has the second-largest Haitian population in the country, followed by the Boston area.

New enclaves have emerged in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Ohio and elsewhere as natural disasters, political unrest and violence over the past decade have driven emigration to South America and North America.

Springfield, which lies between Columbus and Dayton, is one of those new enclaves. Local officials say it has attracted thousands of Haitians, drawn by a wealth of jobs and a low cost of living. They have helped the economy grow and the population recover. But the speed and volume of new arrivals have also driven up housing prices and strained clinics, schools and social services.

Sen. J.D. Vance, Trump’s running mate who grew up in Middletown, about 40 miles from Springfield, began highlighting the situation in July to criticize the Biden administration’s border policies, calling Haitians illegal immigrants even though they have temporary legal status that allows them to live and work in the United States.

Last Monday, Mr. Vance wrote in a post on social media more than 11 million views that “reports now show that people have had their pets kidnapped and eaten by people who don’t belong in this country.”

Then, during last week’s presidential debate, Mr. Trump repeated the claim about the Haitians: “They eat the dogs. The people who came in are eating the cats.”

Jessie Woo, 34, a Haitian-American television personality, said the episode recalled another painful period for Haitians in the 1980s, when they were designated as a high-risk country for HIV because of their nationality, leading to widespread stigmatization of Haitians.

“We’re seeing history repeat itself,” said Ms. Woo, a comedian on the show “Wild ‘n Out” who lives in Atlanta.

There, in March 2021, a gunman killed eight people, six of them women of Asian descent. The attack came as officials tracked a rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans during the pandemic.

“The Haitian community is scared,” Ms. Woo said. “We could lose our lives. Racism can even kill you.”

Ruthzee Louijeune, the Boston City Council president and its first elected Haitian-American member, said she tried to ignore the racist memes and xenophobic rhetoric that sprang up on social media after Trump’s debate speeches. But as misinformation spread, she felt compelled to speak out.

“These are lies that people have retracted, but Donald Trump and J.D. Vance are repeating them, knowing that they are spreading lies,” said Ms. Louijeune, 38, who grew up in the heart of the city’s Haitian community and later attended Columbia University and Harvard Law School.

“It’s disgusting and it should make everyone angry,” she said. “They’re using racism to distract us because they don’t have a plan for the American people.”

In 2017, Trump told officials in a White House meeting that Haitian immigrants “all have AIDS.” In 2018, he said places like Haiti and Africa were “shithole countries.” He has made immigration a centerpiece since his first presidential campaign, and disparaging people from other countries has remained a staple of his campaign rhetoric.

“This is not the first time, or the second time, or the third time,” said Geralde Gabeau, the founder and director of the Immigrant Family Services Institute in Massachusetts. “Every time [Trump] When he talks about Haiti, he wants it wiped off the face of the earth.”

Many Haitian-Americans said the recent attacks felt personal, even though they targeted immigrants in Ohio, far from where they live.

Mia Love, 47, who served as a Republican congresswoman for Utah, said she was done giving Trump the benefit of the doubt.

“He painted a picture of monsters eating cats and dogs,” said Ms. Love, the daughter of Haitian immigrants.

Her mother had worked for 28 years in a nursing home in Connecticut, caring for people at the end of their lives. Her father had worked long hours as a janitor.

Stendley Dorisme owns a salon on Springfield Avenue in Irvington, NJ, near Newark. The main street is lined with Haitian-run businesses, including grocery stores, tattoo parlors, bakeries, and restaurants.

Mr. Dorisme, 48, came to the United States as a teenager to escape political violence in Haiti, a place he no longer feels safe returning to. He is also unsure if he feels safe in his adopted homeland.

“If someone here says they’re going to kill you, you might as well stay home,” he said, adding: “We’re here to help the country grow, not to tear it down.”

Handel Destinvil, 40, remembers how hard his mother worked as a garment worker and home health aide to give him a fair chance at achieving the American dream.

“When Trump talks about Haitians, he’s talking about real people,” said Mr. Destinvil, a deputy attorney general in New Jersey. “He’s talking about family, he’s talking about me.”

According to Reynold Verret, president of Xavier University in Louisiana, the attacks are reminiscent of smear campaigns against immigrants throughout American history.

“Immigrants have been mistreated and used as political leverage before,” said Mr. Verret, whose Haitian family settled in Brooklyn when he was 8.

“At the same time, people have welcomed them, taught them English and helped them find jobs,” said Mr. Verret, a biochemist with a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

“I have confidence that the better angels will prevail,” he said.

The reporting was provided by Amy Lynch, Mark Bonamo And Jenna Russel. Kitty Bennett contributed to research.