Are immigrants eating pets in Ohio like Donald Trump said in the debate?
Donald Trump put out a baseless claim that immigrants are stealing and eating pets during the presidential debate which was challenged on the spot.
The first presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris took place on Tuesday in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During the first ever encounter between the Republican and Democratic nominees in the 2024 elections Trump, in a very unhinged fashion, spouted numerous lies, falsehoods and conspiracy theories.
One of those was that immigrants are stealing and eating pets in cities across the United States a claim that was immediately rebutted by moderator David Muir. So where did Trump get this latest outlandish idea?
Are immigrants eating pets in Ohio like Donald Trump said in the debate?
The rumor that immigrants are eating pets got rolling less than a week ago with a post on X showing a screengrab of another social media post. Along with a picture of a man, intended to be a Haitian immigrant, carrying a Canadian goose was a warning that a neighbor who had lost their cat saw it hanging from a tree, ready to be butchered, at another nearby house whose occupants were supposedly Haitian.
The post claimed that the story was from Springfield, Ohio and said Haitian immigrants were being “shipped to the town” by the thousands. In reality, the perhaps as many as 15,000 immigrants in Clark County were drawn by economic opportunities to the community of around 58,000.
The story gained widespread attention when high-profile people like Elon Musk and Trump’s vice presidential pick posted about the rumor on X. “In the last several weeks, my office has received many inquiries from actual residents of Springfield who’ve said their neighbors’ pets or local wildlife were abducted by Haitian migrants. It’s possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false,” JD Vance wrote.
The growing rumors being spread online forced the office of the city manager in Springfield to put out a statement: “In response to recent rumors alleging criminal activity by the immigrant population in our city, we wish to clarify that there have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.”
On Monday, the Springfield police told the Springfield News-Sun that it has not received any reports of pets being stolen or eaten.
The city’s police department frequently asked questions page on immigration states that the estimated immigrant population to be between 12,000 and 15,000 in Clark County, “although it is impossible to provide an exact number.” The Haitian immigrants are in the community legally under the Immigration Parole Program and are eligible for Temporary Protected Status.