ArcaMax

The fabricated claim that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are eating pets and ducks is one of the most bizarre untruths of this election season. This false allegation has further stoked the flames of arguments regarding immigration after former President Donald Trump debated Vice President Kamala Harris. Although Springfield officials have said these assertions have no validity, this damaging narrative continues to be amplified on social media, and it particularly feeds harmful and racist stereotypes that maliciously target immigrants of color.

The extreme negativity resulting from Springfield being thrust into the national news has impacted all its citizens, as the city has been dealing with bomb threats that have shut down schools and municipal buildings. Children have been afraid to attend school, and it is a shame that they must suffer from the consequences of falsehoods going viral. It is also shameful that Haitians are under intense scrutiny as they seek to better their lives after leaving their troubled homeland. Gangs have seized large areas of Haiti's capital city, Port-au-Prince, causing authorities to expand the state of emergency to the entire nation this month. Poverty and violent crime continue to cripple Haitians struggling to survive. For the estimated 12,000 to 15,000 who have immigrated to Springfield, this small, southwestern Ohio city represents hope for a prosperous future.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Viles Dorsainvil, the executive director of Springfield's Haitian Community Help and Support Center, provided a heartfelt statement on the promise of America for immigrants: "America is a beacon of the world in terms of democracy, where they say that human (rights) have to be respected and where they say that they treat people with respect and dignity. I think the American forefathers made that clear, that America should be an open country for everybody." Many Americans still hold this viewpoint on immigration, according to a July 2023 Gallup poll. In this survey, 68% of respondents stated that they believed immigration "is good for the country," while only 27% "(considered) it a bad thing." Forty-one percent of Americans preferred to see fewer migrants coming to the U.S., which correlates to increased concerns about the southern border within the past decade. Some people who want to see our immigrant population significantly decline may have what I like to call an Archie Bunkeresque perspective on foreigners. In an "All in the Family" episode where Archie goes on a rant about "the American way" with his son-in-law, he gripes, "You don't know nothin' about Lady Liberty standin' there in the harbor, with her torch on high, screamin' out to all the nations in the world: 'Send me your poor, your deadbeats, your filthy.' And all them nations send them in here. They come swarmin' in like ants ... and they're all free to live in their own separate sections where they feel safe. ... That's what makes America great, buddy!"

Bunker's sarcasm aside, Emma Lazarus' famous poem inscribed on the Statue of Liberty, calling for the "tired, poor, huddled masses yearning to breathe free" to take refuge in our nation, expresses a powerful sentiment of what America truly represents. I equate this conviction to welcome immigrants who are fleeing suffering and political unrest to our shores with how the Bible says "strangers" should be treated with compassion. For example, in Leviticus 19:33-34, Israel is commanded by God to love "strangers" as "one born among (them)," and Exodus 22:21 states that one "shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him." In Matthew 25:35-40, Christ teaches that when we clothe and feed a stranger, serving "the least of these," we have done it unto Him. Imagine how the tone of our immigration discussions would change if more people viewed a migrant influx as an opportunity to serve.

Hopefully, the nasty rhetoric taunting Springfield Haitians will cease in the coming weeks. They have made a tough, life-altering decision traveling to America, with many needing basic provisions and job opportunities. It is not hard to sympathize with them, knowing what they have left behind.

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Dr. Jessica A. Johnson is a lecturer in the English department at Ohio State University's Lima campus. Email her at smojc.jj@gmail.com. Follow her on X: @JjSmojc. To find out more about Jessica Johnson and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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