To the editor: Former President Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), have a long and sordid history with comments about Haitian immigrants eating pets. (“Trump’s Comments on Haitian Immigrants Spark Outrage in Florida,” Sept. 13)
It is true that Haitians do not like dogs, which were used as tools to capture slaves during the colonial period, but they do not eat them.
In the United States, pets are substitute human beings, so these popular narratives could be seen as variations on rumors that Haitians were cannibals — accusations that led to a group of women being killed during Haiti’s 1864 anti-superstition campaign. Accusations of cannibalism also fueled the “civilizing mission” of African colonialism and slavery, of course.
Let us not forget that Haitians have long been the target of inhumane treatment among asylum seekers. They were the first group to arrive at detention centers when they were falsely accused of bringing AIDS to the United States. In 2019, images emerged of Haitians crossing the U.S.-Mexico border being herded by Border Patrol agents on horseback brandishing their reins like whips.
Trump and Vance's comments about Haitians eating pets are not innocent and should be called out for what they are: anti-Black racism.
Lauren Derby, Santa Monica
The author is a professor of Latin American history at UCLA.
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To the editor: The reason Trump keeps coming back to the immigration issue is simple: to create a divisive and fearful wedge in an election year.
As an immigration lawyer, I can say that while neither Democrats nor Republicans are framing our issues well, Trump's rhetoric is particularly distorting and unrealistic.
His threat of mass deportation of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States (or even a small percentage) is impossible. The ripple effect on American society, our legal system, and the economy would be enormous, with significant human suffering along the way.
For more than 25 years, Democratic and Republican presidents have pushed hard for comprehensive immigration reform, but have failed to deliver. It is a legislative unicorn. The only solution is to take a piecemeal approach that focuses first on border security.
This is exactly what the Border Act of 2024 would have done. Unfortunately, Trump undermined the passage of the act and, with it, a real first step toward a comprehensive solution.
Brad Brigante, Pasadena
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To the editor: Trump’s repeated and blatant lie about black Haitian immigrants eating pets has been received in different ways by different people. Some consider it true because their leader said so, others consider it ridiculous, and others have seen it as an attempt to scare xenophobic voters who are even “mildly” racist.
Of course, Haitian Americans find this insulting and terrifying, but there is another group to consider: American Jews, who have noticed that Trump has included anti-Semites in his inner circle.
This lie, that the “other” is killing and devouring your loved one, is a new version of the “blood libel” that claims that Jews kill Christian children to eat their blood. This was used to motivate European Christians to kill Jews.
This terrifies me and should terrify every American.
Richard Merel, Hermosa Beach
