'Big mistake': South Florida Haitians slam Trump's false claim about immigrants eating pets

Growing up, Nathan Gabriel was teased for his Haitian heritage. He’s now growing increasingly concerned about the claims former President Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance made at the national stage regarding Haitian immigrants — and that anxiety has empowered him to push others to vote.

“Being Haitian is a blessing,” said Gabriel, the president of the Haitian Student Union at Florida International University. “Never let a classmate, coworker or even a vice president nominee and former President tell you different.”

Like Gabriel, about 200 people — mainly members of South Florida’s Haitian community — and dozens of local political leaders gathered outside the North Miami City Hall on Sunday afternoon to rally against the baseless claims made by the Trump campaign. The event was hosted by the Miami-Dade Democratic Haitian Caucus.

“If there was ever a time to stand and defend ourselves, it is right now,” Gabriel said. “Especially [when the comments come] from anyone in a position of power, especially a former president and a current vice president candidate...”

In recent weeks, the Trump campaign has falsely stated that Haitian immigrants living in a southwestern Ohio city are abducting and eating local wildlife and their neighbors’ pets. Trump repeated the racist tropes, rooted in a centuries-old racist trope of vilifying newcomers to the United States, during the Sept. 10 debate against Vice President Harris.

Karen Graves, a spokesperson for the city of Springfield, Ohio, said in a statement that “there have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.”

“Mr. Trump made one big mistake,” said Hedder Pierre-Joseph, president of the Democratic Haitian Caucus of Florida. “He forgot that we are five generations in. The first boat load of Haitians landed on the coast of Pompano Beach in December 1973.”

“We are U.S. citizens right now, and we are going to vote...”

‘Made this community’

The Haitian community should stand firm — and turn out at the ballot box for Harris in November, State Sen. Shevrin Jones told the crowd. That’s how the community, he said, can prevent dangerous and offensive rhetoric from tearing the U.S. apart.

“[Trump and Vance] are not fit to lead... because they don’t know about the Haitian community,” Jones said. “Not only that, maybe we need to invite them here to Florida to have a meal at Chef Creole.”

Standing before the crowd in the blistering sun, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who’s running against Sen. Rick Scott, slammed Scott for his party’s response to the comments about Haitian immigrants. Scott, in an interview with conservative news outlet, said the situation “sounds pretty scary for the citizens of Springfield.” He later praised the state’s Haitian population, saying he has “a great relationship with them.”

Mucarsel-Powell emphasized that the more than 500,000 Haitians living in Florida can sway who is elected in November.

“You are entrepreneurial,” she told the crowd. “You’re small business owners. You are our teachers. You are our nurses. You have made this community what it is today...”