Chicago's Haitian American community shows solidarity in the face of lies about immigrants eating pets

Members of Chicago's Haitian community and supporters gathered Sunday afternoon to denounce recent "hateful" and false claims made about Haitian immigrants by former President Donald Trump, the current Republican nominee for president.

The rally, held at Federal Plaza in the Loop, was organized by the Coalition of Haitian American Organizations in the Chicagoland Area. About 25 people attended and several community members, faith leaders and alderpersons spoke despite the afternoon's persistent rain.

During the Sept. 10 presidential debate against Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump repeated the false claims that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were stealing and eating people's cats and dogs. Many of Sunday's speakers denounced the comments as racist and xenophobic.

Trump's running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, has amplified debunked internet rumors about Haitian migrants as the Republican ticket criticizes the immigration policies of President Joe Biden's administration that are supported by Harris. City officials acknowledge growing pains from the influx of some 15,000 Haitian immigrants, but say there's no evidence to support the claim they are consuming anyone's pets.

More than 30 bomb threats have been made against schools, government buildings and city officials' homes since last week, forcing evacuations and closures.

At Sunday's rally in Chicago, Daniel Jean, president of the Haitian American Professional Network of Chicago, said: "I stand with all my Haitian brothers and sisters across the country and all the way to Haiti to denounce the hateful remarks that are being levied against our people.

"We deserve so much better," Jean said. "One way to combat Haitian hate is to educate ourselves and to continue to educate other people about Haitian history, our culture and all of our contributions that we have continually made to this country."

Jean listed several key Haitian Americans. Chicago's founder, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, was Haitian, and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is the child of Haitian immigrants, Jean said.

"You know who we are," he said to cheers from the crowd.

Darryl Auguste attended the rally to show support for the strong Haitian community that raised him. His parents emigrated from Haiti to Chicago before he was born.

"The importance of this rally is not simply the fact that we are fighting against words that were harmful, but we're supporting those that are helping to build us," Auguste told the Sun-Times. "I know without my community, that I would not be where I'm at."

Auguste said that although Sunday's rally was organized to call out hate and ignorance, it was also a chance to honor the contributions Haitians make to Chicago and the rest of the country.

"As a Haitian American, I'm celebrating everything about me, both the Haitian side and the American side," Auguste said. "I want everybody to see that we come here, and we help build this beautiful fabric that is the United States."