Caribbean-American legislators in New York on September 10, 2024, strongly denounced what they described as an anti-immigrant disinformation campaign surrounding Haitian migrants.
They have accused Republican Vice-Presidential Candidate JD Vance of spreading “bogus reports about Haitians, with absurd claims that ‘people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country.’”
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“It’s truly sickening to see America’s most powerful prey on its most vulnerable through xenophobic, despicable disinformation,” Democratic Congresswoman Yvette D Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).
“Though even acknowledging these heinous, anti-immigrant rumors is beneath our common decency, unfortunately, billionaires and extreme conservatives, aided by their allies in far-right media spaces, continue to give life to these dangerous, disproven lies.
“Their anti-immigrant prevarications are not only dangerous and inflammatory, they play on bigoted stereotypes that seek to isolate migrant families and foster hatred towards their communities,” added the representative for the predominantly Caribbean 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, New York.
“Haitian migrants who escaped national repression do not deserve to be slandered by racist fearmongers while seeking safety in America.
“We each have a responsibility to reject those seeking to ignite tensions by sharing information they know to be false,” Clarke continued. “And we each have a moral obligation to stand for the truth, and stand with our Haitian American neighbors.”
Brooklyn Democratic Party Chair, Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, the first Haitian-American to lead a major party in New York City, also told CMC that, “The Trump Campaign keeps spreading disgusting and blatantly racist fake ‘news’ attacking immigrants, this time with VP contender JD Vance sharing absurd social media claims that Haitian immigrants are ‘abducting and eating’ people’s pets.
“The Trump-Vance Campaign repeatedly trying to spread hate and fear by painting Haitians and other immigrants as dangerous criminals with racist tropes shows why we must keep them out of office,” said the daughter of Haitian immigrants, who represents the 42nd Assembly District in Brooklyn. “Absurd online ‘reports’ are being legitimized and weaponized by MAGA Republicans.
“Make no mistake: JD Vance is trying to incite hatred from US citizens against Haitians while advancing Trump’s inhumane mass deportation policies,” she added.
“As one of the largest Democratic organizations in the nation, the Brooklyn Democratic Party embraces our borough’s wonderfully diverse communities. That’s why I proudly support Kamala Harris, a daughter of immigrants, to become our nation’s first woman, first Black woman, and first Asian American President, as she keeps fighting to defend immigrants.
“Trump and Vance are using suffering immigrants as propaganda for racist rhetoric,” Bichotte Hermelyn continued. “Our nation knows better: Haitians formed the world’s first Free Black Republic, and their revolution led to the US’s expansion. They shed blood for our nation’s independence as soldiers in the Battle of Savannah, while Jean Baptiste Point du Sable founded Chicago, and, today, Haitian immigrants serve as doctors, engineers, and myriad roles, making America better.
“Let’s keep America a beacon of freedom and hope at the ballot boxes,” she urged.
Haitian-born New York City Council Member Mercedes Narcisse also condemned the “harmful anti-Haitian rhetoric”, saying “enough is enough.”
“As a proud Haitian immigrant, I am deeply disappointed that our political discourse has sunk to such a low, once again targeting Haitians with baseless and harmful lies,” said the representative for the 46th Council District in Brooklyn. “Our community has endured so much, from overcoming social and political struggles to fighting stereotypes that have caused real harm. CMC
