To the editor: The comments by former President Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), about Haitian immigrants eating pets have a long and sordid history. (“Trump’s Haitian immigrant comments stir outrage in Florida,” Sept. 13)
It is true that Haitians tend not to like dogs, which were used as slave-catching tools during the colonial period. But they do not eat them.
In the U.S., pets are surrogate people, thus these popular narratives could be seen as variations on rumors that Haitians were cannibals — allegations that sent a group of women to their death during the 1864 anti-superstition campaign in Haiti. Accusations of cannibalism also fueled the “civilizing mission” of African colonialism and slavery, of course.
Let us not forget that Haitians have long been singled out for uniquely subhuman treatment among asylum seekers. They were the first group to land in detention centers when they were falsely accused of bringing AIDS to the United States. In 2019, there were images of Haitians crossing the U.S.-Mexico border being herded by Border Patrol agents on horseback wielding their reins as whips.
Comments by Trump and Vance about Haitians eating pets are not innocent and should be called out for what they are: anti-Black racism.
Lauren Derby, Santa Monica
The writer is a professor of Latin American history at UCLA.
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To the editor: The reason why Trump keeps going back to immigration again and again is simple — to create a divisive, fearful wedge in an election year.
As an immigration attorney, I can say that, while neither Democrats nor Republicans are framing our problems well, Trump’s rhetoric is particularly distortive and unrealistic.
His threat of mass deportation of the U.S.’ estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants (or even of a small percentage) is an impossibility. The domino effects to American society, our legal system and the economy would be massive, with significant human suffering along the way.
For more than 25 years, Democratic and Republican presidents have pushed hard for comprehensive immigration reform but failed. It’s a legislative unicorn. The only solution is to take a piecemeal approach focusing on border security first.
This is exactly what the Border Act of 2024 would have done. Sadly, Trump undermined the bill’s passage and, with it, a real first step toward a comprehensive solution.
Brad Brigante, Pasadena
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To the editor: Trump’s repeated, shameless lie about Black immigrants from Haiti eating pets has been received variously by different people. Some see it as true because their leader said so, some see it ridiculous, and others have seen it as an attempt to scare xenophobic voters who are even “mildly” racist.
Of course, Haitian Americans see this as insulting and frightening. But there’s another group to consider: American Jews, who’ve noticed Trump’s inclusion of antisemites into his inner circle.
This lie, that the “other” is killing and eating your beloved, is a new version of the “blood libel” that Jews kill Christian children to eat their blood. This was used to motivate European Christians to kill Jews.
This terrifies me, and it should terrify all Americans.
Richard Merel, Hermosa Beach
