JD Vance spreads debunked claims about Haitian immigrants eating pets

Using dehumanizing language to describe immigrants is nothing new for former president Donald Trump or vice presidential candidate JD Vance. Accusations of immigrants being criminals, rapists, poisoning the blood of the nation have become common currency. But this week, the rhetoric seemed to hit a new low: the allegation that immigrants eat pets.

Vance, who also represents Ohio in the U.S. Senate, spread a debunked claim about Haitian migrants living in the city of Springfield, Ohio on Monday, accusing them of abducting pets and eating them.

The claim, which local police say is baseless, was made by far-right activists, local Republicans and neo-Nazis before being picked up by Vance.A well-known advocate for the Haitian community says she received a wave of racist harassment in the aftermath of Vance’s post.

Vance made the claim as part of a political attack against Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee. On the social media site X, Vance wrote, “Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn't be in this country. Where is our border czar?” a label Republicans have pinned on Harris, who was tasked by President Biden with working to examine the root causes of migration from Central America

Springfield, a small city of around 60,000 people, has received from 15,000 to 20,000 migrants, many from Haiti, in the past four years, which has created tension as the city works to absorb so many newcomers in a short amount of time.

The city has often been cited by Vance and other Republicans as what they view as a cautionary tale of the economic woes caused by immigration.

Less than 30 minutes after Vance’s post, the Springfield News-Sun reported that local