JD Vance accuses Black immigrants of eating White people's pets - UPDATE: Trump doubles down on the debate stage!

[bnew]

Spoiler: thread continued

Spoiler: full text

1/9
@jahsounds
THIS.
The most insane thing in the world is the belief a MAGA-led gov't is going to bother differentiating between black people from here or abroad once they are allowed to call folks' citizenship into question.

It will be a nightmare and we won't be able to unring that bell.

[Quoted tweet]
Y’all Think The People Who Tell Black Americans In 2024 To “Go Back To Africa” Gon Care About Your Citizenship When They Start Rounding Up Immigrants?


2/9
@AriRussell
There is a street in the Bronx in the Soundview section named Amadou Diallo Way the sign is at the corner of Wheeler Ave and Westchester Ave. This whole campaign is right wing Astroturfing meant to divide. The Diallo story speaks to exactly what you’re saying.



3/9
@jahsounds




4/9
@CHANNELRAWTV
black americans cant be deported.



5/9
@jahsounds
LoL, do you really think that would deter them from trying?



6/9
@mpierrelouis1
That's exactly why MVP's dearly departed mother raise her and Maya as Black women cause America will see them as such!!!



7/9
@WilliamHaugh




8/9
@mbur82
When we start the New Underground Railroad we’re gonna need to check people’s tweets looking for pick mes and Stein supporters. They should be grateful they didn’t mistakenly get freedom instead of being under the boot of their people they wanted in charge.



9/9
@MsBlaqbusta
There is no black people abroad




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Spoiler: full text

1/1
'God help us': Springfield Jamaicans mistaken for Haitians by 'aggressive' white woman 'God help us': Springfield Jamaicans mistaken for Haitians by 'aggressive' white woman


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​

'God help us': Springfield Jamaicans mistaken for Haitians by 'aggressive' white woman​

David Edwards

September 26, 2024 11:26AM ET

Donald Trump, JD Vancxe (Trump photo by Mandel G Ngan for AFP: Vance by Gage Skidmore)

Hate against Haitians sparked by Republican running mates Donald Trump and J.D. Vance spilled over to the Jamaican community in Springfield, Missouri, this week.

In a post on Facebook, the Jamaican Patty Co. said an employee was confronted by an angry white woman who thought she was addressing Haitians.

"[W]e received a call from a disgruntled person regarding Haitians filing a lawsuit against the Trump/Vance ticket," the company explained. "Without identifying herself, she aggressively confronted us and mistaken us for Haitians and not Jamaicans."

The woman reportedly hung up before the restaurant could express a stance.

"The position we were about to take with her was, we as a company believe in standing up for what is right," the restaurant's posting said. "We do not condone misinformation or frivolous attacks on our neighbors, which we now know has given merit to this new lawsuit."

ALSO READ: Trump's hate-filled rhetoric and its violent consequences

"The audacity of this misinformed person. We hope that this election cycle does not get too ugly. Let us treat people the way we would like to be treated. God help us."

Earlier this week, the leader of a Haitian group filed criminal charges against Trump and Vance after the men made claims about pets being eaten in Springfield, Ohio.

 

[DrexlersFade]

Thankfully, a prestigious RNC speaker has now weighed in with her informed opinion.

Amber Rose backs Trump-Vance pet eating conspiracy: 'a known fact'

The American model also spoke at the Republican National Conventional this year, and said Trump and his supporters were her "people."

www.newsweek.com

"Haitian immigrants are absolutely eating people's cats and dogs in Springfield," Rose stated. When challenged by the TMZ interviewer, who cited local officials saying the claims were false, the TV personality doubled down, adding that she had seen social media videos corroborating the allegations.


"I've seen videos online where people claim their pets were taken by Haitian immigrants," Rose said, insisting that this confirmed Trump's narrative.


Rose defended Trump and Vance. "Why is it racist if it's true?" she asked during her interview with TMZ.


She further argued, "It is a known fact that in Haitian culture, some people do eat cats." While acknowledging that not all Haitians engage in the practice, Rose maintained that it is common enough to validate Trump's claims. "That's part of Haitian culture, right? It's not every Haitian person, but some do."



According to the history blog Rogue Art Historian, some Haitians do sacrifice animals in religious ceremonies, in an "offering that maintains the balance between the human and spiritual realms," but these animals are chickens, goats and pigs, with no mention of cats or dogs.

x.com

x.com

 

[Breh13]

Thankfully, a prestigious RNC speaker has now weighed in with her informed opinion.

Amber Rose backs Trump-Vance pet eating conspiracy: 'a known fact'

The American model also spoke at the Republican National Conventional this year, and said Trump and his supporters were her "people."

www.newsweek.com

"Haitian immigrants are absolutely eating people's cats and dogs in Springfield," Rose stated. When challenged by the TMZ interviewer, who cited local officials saying the claims were false, the TV personality doubled down, adding that she had seen social media videos corroborating the allegations.


"I've seen videos online where people claim their pets were taken by Haitian immigrants," Rose said, insisting that this confirmed Trump's narrative.


Rose defended Trump and Vance. "Why is it racist if it's true?" she asked during her interview with TMZ.


She further argued, "It is a known fact that in Haitian culture, some people do eat cats." While acknowledging that not all Haitians engage in the practice, Rose maintained that it is common enough to validate Trump's claims. "That's part of Haitian culture, right? It's not every Haitian person, but some do."



According to the history blog Rogue Art Historian, some Haitians do sacrifice animals in religious ceremonies, in an "offering that maintains the balance between the human and spiritual realms," but these animals are chickens, goats and pigs, with no mention of cats or dogs.

Very pathetic when people with zero talent try to grift in a space full of retarded cult followers. It only works because everyone involved is a stupid piece of shyt.

 

[bnew]

 

[Mega]

Man accused of pointing gun at Haitian man, kids in Springfield

A Springfield man is facing charges after being accused of pointing a gun at a Haitian man and children.

www.yahoo.com

 

[TheJet]

x.com

x.com

That's Wiz Khalifa baby moms ,y'all

 

[Micky Mikey]

x.com

x.com

Wow I didn't think she was capable of going so low. If its one thing we can learn about this era its that people will do and say anything for money. Even if it means promoting genocidal talking points towards an entire group of people. If we as black people don't start getting on code and holding people like her accountable it'll only get worse. People can only do things like this when they think there won't be any consequences to their actions. Its past time we prove them otherwise. A whole lot of these c00ns from Candace Owens to Tariq Nasheed and now Amber Rose need that biblical 1st testament type of punishment..

 

[Elim Garak]

 

[bnew]

Spoiler: full text

1/1
Aaaaaaand there it is.

[Quoted tweet]
Springfield OH geese killer was a 64-year-old white guy hunting illegally huffpost.com/entry/springfie…



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Spoiler: full text

1/11
@JohnJHarwood
Springfield OH geese killer was a 64-year-old white guy hunting illegally Someone Was Arrested For Killing Geese In Springfield — But It Wasn’t A Haitian



2/11
@danzu72
Well, well, well. What do we have here?



3/11
@WowbaggerT
Weirdly, no Republicans will propose deporting white people back to Europe.



4/11
@MeditationsinMo
Huh. Next you're going to tell me that it is actually a white supremacist gang who is actually responsible for selling fentanyl.

Not immigrants.

White supremacist gang members in San Fernando Valley face federal charges



5/11
@RexChapman
Damn



6/11
@madlizzy17
Not surprised, not even a little bit.



7/11
@forbestonow
It's always projection with MAGA. Always.



8/11
@NeveltenJohn
There is a basic ugliness to this search for some Haitian doing something wrong. I suppose the NY Post DID find one with it's report on a Springfield fender-bender caused by an illegal right turn.

This is evil and any politician doing it unworthy of public trust.



9/11
@milsma
He heard the geese had migrated from Canada.



10/11
@msretro
Imagine that.



11/11
@Gryph911
Who called in the bomb threats?

[Quoted tweet]
Turns out the "b*mb threats" that the media blamed Trump and JD Vance for for weeks were ALL hoaxes and some originated overseas.

When will the media apologize?



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Brian Comer, a 64-year-old white man, was accused of illegally hunting geese at a golf course on the day Trump amplified racist lies about Haitian immigrants in the city.

By Pocharapon Neammanee

Oct 3, 2024, 04:24 PM EDT

A 64-year-old white man in Springfield, Ohio, was accused of illegally hunting geese at a golf course pond as former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, were spreading racist lies that Haitian immigrants in the area were eating geese and people’s pets.

Brian Comer was charged with a misdemeanor in connection with the Sept. 10 incident. According to an arrest affidavit obtained by HuffPost, a golfer at Rocky Lakes Golf Course in Springfield reported seeing a Canada goose floating in a pond and Comer using a shotgun to shoot another bird.

Comer didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment from HuffPost, but court records show he entered a guilty plea. A court spokesperson told HuffPost he paid $200 to cover a fine and court fees.

Journalist Steven Monacelli first posted about the arrest on Thursday on X, formerly Twitter.

The geese were hunted at a pond on the Rocky Lakes Golf Course in Springfield, Ohio, shown here via Google Maps

Google Maps

According to the affidavit by an Ohio Division of Wildlife officer, the golfer approached Comer about the dead goose in the pond, and Comer said there would be several more dead geese in a few minutes. Comer reportedly then got on his lawnmower with a shotgun and fired twice, killing a second goose.

The golfer told police that Comer picked up the first goose and tossed it into the weeds and then broke the neck of the second bird, which had been wounded, according to the affidavit.

Officers who spoke with the golf course manager the following day learned that Comer was an employee, according to the affidavit. The manager told authorities that she allowed several individuals, including Comer, to hunt on the property and claimed he should have all appropriate licenses and permits.

However, when authorities checked with the Division of Wildlife’s licensing and harvest database, Comer did not have certifications to hunt migratory birds, according to the affidavit.

Comer told authorities over the phone that he was cutting the grass at the course that day and wanted to shoot a few geese but admitted he did not have the necessary license and permits, according to the affidavit. He instead said he believed he was permitted to do so, thinking the golf course had a nuisance permit. (The state allows the killing of geese under nuisance permits only from March to August.)

According to court records, Comer was arraigned on Sept. 18 on a fourth-degree misdemeanor count of prohibited activities against state-owned wild animals.

The incident at Rocky Lakes Golf Course happened on the same day as the presidential debate between Trump and the Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris. During the debate, Trump repeated the baseless claim that Haitian immigrants in Springfield were eating pets. At a rally two days later, he falsely accused immigrants of taking ducks and geese from Springfield parks and trails.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has said it found no proof of Haitian immigrants taking geese or ducks; a viral photo of a Black man holding a goose was actually taken in Columbus, where there has also been no evidence of Haitian immigrants harming animals, USA Today reported. A Facebook post that spread a rumor about a Haitian immigrant killing a cat has also been debunked, and the woman behind it told NBC News she regretted posting it. In spite of that, the racist lies have spread on far-right social media accounts and among Republican politicians.

The racist tales have caused real harm against Haitians who are legally living in Springfield, according to a local nonprofit. The Haitian Bridge Alliance has filed a criminal affidavit seeking Trump’s and Vance’s arrest after attributing more than 30“widespread bomb and other threats” against their community.

The group filed a supplemental affidaviton Wednesday following the vice presidential debate, claiming that Vance effectively admitted on stage that he had been lying about Haitians in Springfield when he protested CBS’ fact-checking about their legal status.

 

[br82186]

These retards need to be voted out, this is the Central Park 5 all over again

 

[bnew]

 

[bnew]

Ohio Businessman Receives Death Threats After Praising Haitian Employees -

A lifelong Republican, Jamie McGregor employs fewer Haitians than other businesses in Springfield, Ohio, but his life has been turned upside down since Donald

buzzzingo.com

Ohio Businessman Receives Death Threats After Praising Haitian Employees​

By BuzzZingo / October 22, 2024

A lifelong Republican, Jamie McGregor employs fewer Haitians than other businesses in Springfield, Ohio, but his life has been turned upside down since Donald J. Trump spread falsehoods about immigrants in his hometown.

(Screenshot: instagram.com)

McGregor, a businessman in Springfield, has faced death threats, a company lockdown, and posters around town labeling him a traitor for hiring immigrants after he spoke positively about the Haitian workers he employs.

To protect his family, McGregor has reluctantly decided to own a gun, breaking his personal vow against it.

“I’ve struggled with the fact that now we’re going to have firearms in our house — like, what the hell?” said McGregor, who runs McGregor Metal, a company that manufactures parts for cars, trucks, and tractors.

“We’re taking classes, going to shooting ranges, and being fitted for handguns,” he said, showing a photo of his 14-year-old daughter holding a Glock.

A fifth-generation resident of the small city between Columbus and Dayton, McGregor was struggling a few years ago to fill positions for machine operators, forklift drivers, and quality inspectors. He began hiring Haitians who had recently settled in Springfield, and they now make up about 10 percent of McGregor Metal’s 330-person workforce.

However, McGregor has found himself in a political storm. Former President Donald J. Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, falsely accused the Haitians in Springfield of stealing and eating pets. These rumors fueled resentment over rising housing prices, crowded clinics, and a perceived change in the town’s character. McGregor, who had publicly praised his new employees for their hard work and eagerness to learn, became a target.

Threats poured in, not only against him but also his family and business.

They came by the hundreds — phone calls, emails, and letters from white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and others they had never met.

“The owner of McGregor Metal can take a bullet to the skull and that would be 100 percent justified,” said one message left on the company voicemail.

“Why are you importing Third World savages who eat animals and giving them jobs over United States citizens?” another asked.

“Stack all 20,000 Haitians inside Jamie McGregor’s factory at once and force him to praise the benefits of foreign labor while being crushed to death by Black bodies themselves being crushed to death,” another said.

McGregor’s children and his 80-year-old mother began receiving hateful calls.

“We’re being hunted like animals,” said McGregor’s wife, Cameron.

McGregor said he spoke out to show that the Haitian workers had helped his company grow. He noted that the newcomers have helped revitalize the blue-collar town and reverse its population decline.

“They come to work every day. They don’t cause drama. They’re on time,” he told The New York Times in an interview in early September that helped trigger the backlash. On PBS News Hour the next week, he noted that they were drug-free. “I wish I had 30 more,” he said.

One of his employees, Wilford Renvil, has been with the company since 2021, operating a mechanical press. He fled Haiti, where he had a white-collar job at a telecommunications company, after bandits took control of his town and went on killing sprees. His attendance record at McGregor is perfect, and he has befriended his American co-workers.

McGregor Metal employs fewer Haitians than companies like Dole, Topre, and several others in the region. But executives of those companies have refrained from making public statements, even as Springfield has descended into a crisis, with bomb threats closing schools, colleges, and government offices for days.

A lifelong Republican who voted twice for Trump, McGregor said he never imagined that speaking up for his workers would endanger his family.

He also faced backlash from American workers at his company who felt maligned by his comments, some of which implied that Haitians were more reliable than other employees.

McGregor called emergency meetings at all three facilities.

“If you found what I said to be offensive, or if you took my comments personally, I’m deeply sorry, as it was never my intent,” McGregor recalled telling his employees during the emotionally charged meetings.

He explained that the Haitians he hired were in the country legally and paying taxes, contrary to claims on social media that McGregor Metal paid them lower wages under the table.

“We have different opinions and beliefs, but we’re here to make metal parts,” he told the staff. “We’re not here to debate immigration.”

F.B.I. agents showed up at McGregor Metal unexpectedly on Sept. 12.

They warned him that some of the threats on social media were credible and that he must take precautions.

They advised locking the lobby doors at McGregor Metal and implementing other safety protocols.

Security experts also advised the family to vary their driving routes to work, school, and other places, wear gloves and use tongs when handling mail, and keep the blinds drawn at home.

The family was also advised to scrub their digital footprints, install cameras, motion sensors, and alarms, and start parking rear-first in the garage, keeping the car in drive until the door is fully closed.

The hardest recommendation for McGregor was to buy a gun. More than one, in fact.

He said he had always supported people’s right to own firearms. But “I’m not a gun person,” he said, breathing deeply. “I do not like guns. I never liked guns.”

He felt heartbroken when he had to pull his daughter out of school for shooting lessons.

“It was a complete loss of innocence,” he said.

As the family tried to adjust to their new reality, ominous posters of McGregor appeared near his plants, outside a grocery store, and on poles.

They featured quotes from McGregor praising his immigrant workers, with the word “traitor” scrawled on his forehead in red capital letters.

Last week, Springfield experienced its first relatively normal week since the claims about Haitians and pets disrupted the city’s routines and created chaos. All 17 schools opened without new bomb threats, although state troopers still swept the buildings beforehand.

On Tuesday night, the city held its first in-person commission meeting since the bomb threats. Attendees had to pass through metal detectors.

During the public comment period, some angry residents aired grievances about Haitians, as they had done in the past. But the gathering was not as heated as previous ones, and several people voiced support for the immigrants and encouraged community unity.

Threats against the McGregor family and his company have decreased in recent days.

But they cannot rest easy.

“You know, things are just different now,” McGregor said, noting that he would not vote for Trump again.

“Here at the shop, you know, on a warm day, we would normally have all of our doors and windows open and the breeze blowing,” he said.

On a recent evening, when McGregor arrived home feeling unwell, his family worried that he had been exposed to a biological agent such as anthrax after handling mail.

McGregor said he was more likely just suffering from the accumulation of stress, but that did not relieve his wife’s anxiety.

“I can’t imagine living my whole life like this,” Ms. McGregor said. “You know, it’s got to end. It’s got to stop — hopefully after the election.”

A correction was made on Sept. 30, 2024: An earlier version of this article referred imprecisely to the Ohio State Police officers who swept school buildings after bomb threats. They were troopers, not paratroopers.

 

[bnew]

Uncertainty in Springfield, the Ohio town put on the map by Trump’s false claims about immigrants

Residents in Springfield, Ohio, are trying to move on after Trump’s rhetoric about Haitian migrants. Some now worry he could make an example of them.

www.nbcnews.com

Uncertainty in Springfield, the Ohio town put on the map by Trump’s false claims about immigrants​

Residents in Springfield, Ohio, are trying to move on after Trump’s rhetoric about Haitian migrants. Some now worry he could make an example of them.

Nov. 16, 2024, 8:00 AM EST

By Alicia Victoria Lozano

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — In the months leading up to Election Day, political signs and billboards dotted much of the landscape surrounding this town in southwestern Ohio. By that weekend, many were gone.

Residents, tired and frustrated after their hometown became a national flashpoint in the election over immigration, were trying to move past the intense scrutiny and refocus on the future.

“It is what it is. We have to live with it,” Jean Philistin, a Haitian resident of Springfield, said of Donald Trump’s victory. “The American people, they wanted him and they elected him.”

Only a couple of months ago, Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, helped perpetuate false rumors about Haitian residents in Springfield eating pets and local wildlife even after city and county officials denied the claims.

The city became a kind of parable of the strains that accompany a sudden influx of migrants, such as rising rents and longer wait times for medical and social services, making Springfield fodder for pro-Trump partisans who then used racist claims to bring it to a national audience.

After the election, NBC News returned to the town and spoke with more than a dozen residents who offered a mix of hope and fear about the weeks, months and years to come. Mostly, they were hesitant to talk about the election even after its decisive conclusion.

American and Trump flags adorn the parking lot of small shopping strip mall.Rich-Joseph Facun for NBC News

Philistin, who became an American citizen two years ago and voted for the first time, remains unsettled by the election results. He voted for Vice President Kamala Harris and has relatives in New Jersey who voted for Trump.

He said they were attracted to Trump’s economic policies, but his rhetoric on immigration went too far for Philistin, and he said he fears they don’t understand how some of Trump's policies could impact other Haitians.

On election night, Philistin was glued to the TV, he said. A week later, he wondered how a Trump White House will affect his community.

“I’m nervous, but I’m not upset,” he said.

Support for Trump did not waver in the reliably conservative Clark County despite his false claims about Springfield.

Trump won 64% of the vote in the county, up from 61% in 2020. Fueled by economic concerns, a red wave walloped Democratic lawmakers across Ohio. Longtime U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, who has held his seat since 2007, lost to newcomer and Trump ally Bernie Moreno.

US citizen and Haitian immigrant Jean Philistin at his home in Springfield. Philistin was a first time voter in the 2024 election and cast his ballot for Kamala Harris.Rich-Joseph Facun for NBC News

Christian Jordan, who was born in Venezuela and moved to Springfield some 20 years ago, said he voted for Trump despite the president-elect’s sometimes bombastic descriptions of his native country and his adopted home. A self-described “big supporter of the Republican party,” Jordan said Trump’s economic policies outweigh his hyperbole.

“Maybe the representation isn’t perfect, but it’s politics,” he said. “You’re able to kind of look past it.”

Last Saturday, Jordan attended an Ohio State University football game and attendees joked about Springfield residents eating cats, he said. He laughed along with everyone else but lamented Springfield’s newfound reputation as undeserved.

“That’s not how you want to be remembered as a town,” he said. “Springfield is trying very hard to continue to move on.”

Springfield suffered from years of job losses that ate away at its economic base but it is now one of many towns across the U.S. that are enjoying a resurgence, in part because of its immigrant population.Rich-Joseph Facun for NBC News

A community in limbo​

The Haitian community’s presence in Springfield has grown significantly over the past five years, with an estimated 12,000 to 15,000 new residents arriving to escape political turmoil and violence in their home country, according to the city.

Many are here under federal humanitarian programs, while others hold green cards or tourist visas. They have purchased and rented homes, opened businesses and filled labor gaps in industries such as manufacturing.

Residents and officials agree that it would be bad for business if Trump makes good on his promise to carry out the “largest deportation in the history of our country,” starting with Springfield.

On Sunday, the president-elect announced immigration hard-liner Tom Homan, who once backed a “zero tolerance” policy that caused family separations, as his pick for “border czar.”

“It would be a mistake,” Lindsay Aime, a Haitian immigrant who has temporary protected status until 2026, said of the deportation plan. “All the businesses across Springfield, if you lose good, beautiful workers, you will feel it economically.”

"As a community, we are moving away from this, and we're moving forward," Mayor Rob Rue said. "We're not trying to stay on something that we don't need to stay on."Rich-Joseph Facun for NBC News

Trump made his mass deportation promise in September, and his transition team has said it is considering ending two Biden administration programs that have allowed more than 1 million immigrants to legally enter the U.S.

Migrants who arrived in the U.S. legally under the current programs, including from Haiti, may be immune from deportation if they have already been granted asylum or are on the path toward it, or have another legal status to stay in the United States.

According to city officials, the vast majority of Haitian residents in Springfield have legal status. Vance has suggested that Biden’s immigration policy is bogus and that many Haitians in Springfield are fair game to be deported.

The Trump transition team did not respond to a request for comment.

The morning after the election, a handful of local leaders activated their networks of advocates, organizers and officials. Everyone had the same question about Trump.

“Would he make an example of us?” asked Carl Ruby, senior pastor of Central Christian Church.

The Haitian Community Help & Support Center has become a gathering place that doubles as a church but also a classroom for Haitians learning English and for social service providers and other residents to learn Creole.Rich-Joseph Facun for NBC News

Questions in the aftermath​

On Sunday, a stream of more than 100 people poured out of the Haitian Community Help and Support Center, which doubles as a church. Some families celebrated baptisms while others chatted in Creole.

Sitting in the back of a large room, Julio Dumano reflected on the last week.

“We were very scared at first because they promised to deport us, but maybe they will change their minds,” he said, repeating a refrain shared by several Haitian residents. “As a good Christian, we will pray and see what happens next.”

Some Haitians have already left the area, he said, frightened off by the rumors and vitriol that accompanied the negative attention in recent months. Because there is no official accounting for how many Haitians moved into the area, the city does not know how many have left.

When asked to comment on the exodus, Mayor Rob Rue nodded in apparent disappointment.

“That didn’t make me feel good,” he said. “It wasn’t the goal.”

The goal in Springfield has always been to boost the population and stimulate the economy after a long period of stagnation, officials have said. The county incentivized companies to create jobs, which attracted a first wave of Haitian immigrants.

Clark County Commissioner Melanie Wilt, who was born and raised in the area, said this is the first time in her life that she has seen so many new businesses, housing subdivisions and young families move to Springfield. The county will keep pursuing that mission under the Trump White House, she said.

“The biggest impact of the administration was already made,” she said, referring to Trump and Vance’s immigration rhetoric. “We remain on standby for whatever comes next.”

During the last Trump administration, several municipalities created sanctuary city policies in an attempt to curb deportations. Some within Springfield’s activist network wondered if they could duplicate similar efforts here.

Rue, who is a Republican but whose office is nonpartisan, immediately dismissed the idea when asked about it, saying he would continue to follow federal policy under the incoming administration.

The PEEHSO Church - Première Eglise Evangélique Haitienne de Springfield, OH, displays a hand-painted sign of a dove, a cross and a globe. Rich-Joseph Facun for NBC News

Advocates for the Haitian community are looking into options for extending the federal government’s temporary protected status for Haitian residents, but it remains unclear whether that would provide any guardrail against the Trump deportation plan.

“We have to proceed with caution and move forward while looking over our shoulder,” said Denise Williams, president of Springfield’s NAACP chapter.

Sitting outside City Hall, Rue said he was frustrated by the negative attention cast on his community and is grateful the election is over. He bristled when asked if he’s concerned Springfield will be a target in the new administration.

“You know, there are contributing, tax-paying immigrants that are here in our community,” he said. “I would hope that the administration does see the benefit.”

A flock of birds fly past a vacant skyscraper in downtown Springfield.Rich-Joseph Facun for NBC News

 

[bnew]

Haitian immigrants flee Springfield, Ohio, in droves after Trump election win

City subjected to false rumors from Trump loses residents integral to community over mass deportation fears

www.theguardian.com

Haitian immigrants flee Springfield, Ohio, in droves after Trump election win​

City subjected to false rumors from Trump loses residents integral to community over mass deportation fears

Stephen Starr in Springfield, Ohio

Sun 17 Nov 2024 09.00 EST
Share

Springfield, Ohio, in September. Photograph: Luke Sharrett/Getty Images


From a tiny office behind a Haitian grocery store on Springfield’s South Limestone Street, Margery Koveleski has spent years helping local Haitians overcome bureaucratic red tape to make their lives in the Ohio city a little bit easier.

But Koveleski – whose family is Haitian – has noticed a major change recently.

Haitians are now coming to her to figure out how to leave.

“Some folks don’t have credit cards or access to the internet, and they want to buy a bus ticket or a plane ticket, so we help them book a flight,” she told the Guardian recently. “People are leaving.”

Koveleski, leaders in Springfield’s Haitian community, and others have relayed reports of Haitians fleeing the city of 60,000 people in recent days for fear of being rounded up and deported after Donald Trump’s victory in the 5 November presidential election.

“The owner of one store is wondering if he should move back to New York or to Chicago – he says his business is way down,” Koveleski remarked.

Trump has repeatedly said he would end immigrants’ temporary protected status (TPS) – the provision through which many Haitians are legally allowed to live and work in the US – and deport Haitians from Springfield once in office.

For many, the threats are real.

A sheriff in Sidney, a town 40 miles (64km) north-west of Springfield that is home to several dozen Haitian immigrants, allegedly told local police in September to “get a hold of these people and arrest them”.

“Bring them – I’ll figure out if they’re legal,” he said, referencing Haitian immigrants in the area.

As Jacob Payen, a co-founder of the Haitian Community Alliance who runs a business that includes helping Haitians in Springfield to file tax returns, said: “People are fully aware of the election result, and that is why they are leaving; they are afraid of a mass deportation.

“Several of my customers have left. One guy with his family went to New Jersey; others have gone to Boston. I know three families that have gone to Canada.”

Some are thought to have moved to nearby cities such as Dayton, where they believe they would be less visible to law enforcement. Others who had temporary asylum in Brazil are pondering going back to the South American country, community leaders say.

Springfield’s Haitian community has been in the spotlight since Trump falsely accused immigrants here of eating pets during a presidential debate in September. Since then, the city has seen false bomb threats and marches by neo-Nazi groups after having experienced a revival in recent years in large part because of Haitians who took jobs in local produce packaging and machining factories that many previously there found undesirable.

If these people leave, that money is gone from the city and the local economy

Jacob Payen, Haitian Community Alliance co-founder
Unofficial results from the presidential election found that Trump beat Harris by fewer than 150 votes in Springfield despite his making false claims about immigrants in the Ohio city a cornerstone of his anti-immigration election campaign.

A policy that has been around since 1990, the TPS program currently sees more than 800,000 immigrants who have fled conflict or humanitarian emergencies in 16 countries to live and work legally in the US for a limited time. About 300,000 Haitians fleeing widespread violence in the Caribbean country have been authorized to remain in the US through TPS until at least 3 February 2026.

But while it once enjoyed support from both sides of the political aisle, Trump’s first term saw a California court rule in 2020 that his administration could end TPS for citizens of Haiti and three other countries.

TPS is granted – and often renewed – by the secretary of homeland security. On Tuesday, reports emerged that Trump had chosen to give the post to the South Dakota governor, Kristi Noem, who has deployed state national guard troops to the US-Mexico border several times in recent years.

Trump’s deportation threats are happening at a time when Haiti is experiencing renewed violence from politically connected gangs. The country’s main airport in Port-au-Prince has been closed periodically and was shuttered again on Tuesday after gunfire hit a commercial passenger airplane flying in from the US. That was the second time since October that gunfire had hit an aircraft over Haiti.

Though Trump may ultimately succeed in ending TPS for some immigrants, some legal experts believe that is unlikely to happen during the early days of his administration after his second presidency begins on 20 January.

“There’s a fear among the Haitian community that TPS is going to end on 20 January, and I don’t think that is very likely for a number of reasons,” said Katie Kersh, a senior attorney at the non-profit law firm Advocates for Basic Legal Equality.

“The strain any deportation effort would place on an already stretched immigration court system would be significant.”

Even if the program was ended, Kersh says, current law allows for a court hearing that could take months or years to take place. Similarly, immigrants who have asylum applications filed also have an opportunity to have that application heard.

By ending TPS, Trump could in fact make the issue of undocumented immigration even worse.

“TPS provides employment authorization and a right to reside in the US, so when a TPS grant ends, the people who have it immediately lose employment authorization unless another status which provides it is available to them,” said Ahilan Arulanantham of UCLA’s School of Law, who was among several lawyers to successfully challenge an earlier attempt by Trump to end TPS for Haitians as well as others in 2018.

“That effect occurs regardless of whether they later face deportation.”

The strain any deportation effort would place on an already stretched immigration court system would be significant

Katie Kersh, senior attorney

For companies in Springfield and in nearby communities that depend on Haitian labor, Trump’s comments could prove damaging. The Haitians who filled thousands of jobs at area packaging and auto plants have helped rejuvenate once-blighted neighborhoods and contributed to the local economy in myriad ways.

While many food products lining the shelves of Springfield’s Caribbean stores are imported, many items – bread from Florida and pinto beans from Nebraska – are American. Chicken, beef and eggs served at Haitian restaurants are regularly sourced from local farms.

Recently, a Haitian community organization bought a former fire station it hopes to turn into a facility for English language classes, drivers’ education and a meeting spot.

“I pay thousands of dollars in income and property taxes every year,” said Payen, “and – because I work with Haitians to file their taxes – I see their W-2s and so on. If these people leave, that money is gone from the city and the local economy.”

Curiously, some Haitians, who do not have the right to vote unless they are citizens, have blamed prominent Democrats such as Bill and Hillary Clinton for destroying their country after a devastating 2010 earthquake killed about a quarter of a million people – and displaced in excess of a million more.

Their Clinton Foundation, which ran dozens of projects in the country, had helped raise billions of dollars to assist with reconstruction efforts. But many Haitians believe the funds were siphoned off, which the Clintons deny.

Huge numbers of US guns havebeen trafficked to Haiti in recent years – a fact that is not lost on some in the Springfield community, according to Koveleski.

“They don’t have any faith in the Democratic party,” she said. “Some believe that if Donald Trump says, ‘leave Haiti alone,’ he’s going to leave us alone.”

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