Ever since Donald Trump descended the escalator in Trump Tower back in 2015, the Republican Party has been leveraging issues of immigration and border control.  This strategy has worked: Republicans consistently outpoll the Democrats as the most trusted party on the issue of immigration and the border. As a result, the GOP has come to characterize all 50 states as “border states,” in the hope that this will resonate with their political base.

The false claim by Republican vice presidential candidate Senator JD Vance that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are abducting and eating pets feeds directly into an age-old strategy designed to vilify immigrants and separate in- from out-groups in American society.

The allegation that Haitians–or any immigrant group for that matter–would eat house pets has a long history. An 1871 editorial cartoon refers to Chinese as “rat-eaters.” Jan Harold Brunvand documents several urban legends surrounding migrant communities, including Vietnamese wanting to “buy puppies or kittens to use as food” along with other unsavory tales.

Trump insisted during his September debate with Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris that, “In Springfield, they're eating the dogs…The people that came in. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating—they’re eating the pets of the people that live there. And this is what’s happening in our country. And it’s a shame.”

The rumor has had its intended political effect. Major Republican figures have amplified fear-mongering techniques about Haitian immigrants. Internet searches for “Springfield” and “immigrant” have sharply increased in Google Trends. And threats of violence are mounting: More than 30 bomb threats have been called into schools and other areas around Springfield, including City Hall and the homes of local government officials. The community canceled an annual arts festival and Wittenburg University moved classes online due to security concerns.

Why have Haitians migrated to Springfield?

With all eyes on Springfield, it is natural to ask how an estimated 15,000 Haitians came to live there. Emigration out of Haiti has a long history as the troubled country continues to confront poverty, natural disasters, gang violence, insecurity, political instability, and diminishing economic opportunities.

As of last March, more than 160,000 people were displaced in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area. Many displacement sites have been completely emptied due to successive waves of violence, leaving families traumatized. Gangs have taken over hospitals and urgent needs include access to food, healthcare, water, hygiene facilities, and psychological support.

This recent wave of emigration adds to thousands who have left Haiti since the massive earthquake in 2010 and the violent riots that led to a political crisis in 2018. Political and economic insecurities, combined with a lack of opportunities, have led Haitians to seek numerous routes into the United States. Between October 2020 and May 2023, the U.S. Border Patrol encountered almost 150,000 Haitians attempting to cross into the United States via the Southern Border; the US Coast Guard intercepted almost 5,000 Haitians at sea. The Biden Administration’s Humanitarian Parole program, which allows U.S. residents to sponsor arrivals by plane, has brought in more than 5,000 Haitians as of mid-February, 2024. This program has sparked an unprecedented demand for Haitian passports, with more than 580,000 Haitian applications pending as of May.

Haitian newcomers join an existing population of 731,000 in the United States. Most Haitians have arrived in Springfield under Temporary Protective Status (TPS). This status gives them temporary protection from deportation and provides them with work authorization due to conditions in their home country that make it unsafe to return. As of January 2023, 107,000 Haitians held Temporary Protected Status (TPS); an estimated 105,000 more were eligible to apply for this status.

Why Springfield? In the last decade, Springfield has experienced an economic boom largely driven by the return of manufacturing to the area. An estimated 8,000 new jobs were created as a result of this boom in industry, requiring a large unskilled labor pool, something that Springfield sorely lacked. The solution came from an unexpected place: Haitian immigrants.

Before the pandemic, there was a relatively small Haitian community in Springfield. This community, however, was deeply connected to the Haitian diaspora across the country. This connection became the impetus for solving the labor problem in Springfield, as the migrants who were already there began to tell other Haitians about the job opportunities that existed in Springfield and the surrounding areas, resulting in between 12,000 and 15,000 Haitians who migrated to Clark County, Ohio, in the last decade.

As a response to the influx, local officials and employers began to pursue programs that made it easier for Haitians to relocate and integrate into the local community. Examples include massive expansions in ESL (English as a second language) programs in job training and in healthcare. These programs and accommodations served a dual purpose, both integrating Haitians into the workforce and community as well as encouraging future immigration by presenting a hospitable destination.

Does Haitian immigration affect the local economy?

Immigration in general has several effects on local economies. A study released by a scholar at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School finds that immigration has little, if any, long run effect on the wages of native workers. Because immigration encourages innovation and occupational specialization, it leads to higher economic activity in the aggregate. In the case of immigrants who are in the United States due to programs such as parole or TPS—migrants who have work authorization—an influx of immigration has the potential to give local economies a boost. Immigrants contribute tax dollars, start businesses at higher rates than native-born citizens, and wield significant spending power that can boost consumer demand in local markets.

Immigrants have also expanded the labor market significantly and have occupied traditionally “low-skilled” or general service industry jobs, working at factories, construction sites, daycares, and local farms regardless of their immigration status. They are willing to be hired at lower wages, unlike native-born workers, driving down overall costs for the services provided. Thus, when the government restricts foreign labor, production falls drastically.

That is not to say that immigration is an unambiguous good. A large and sudden influx of immigrants places significant stress on the economy and government services/funding. Money will be spent to house migrants in hotels, motels, and shelters across the city. Cities already grappling with issues of housing, rent increases, and unemployment are at a higher risk for stress when absorbing waves of immigrants. Furthermore, taxpayers face a high burden in places with less educated and lower-income immigrants who utilize state and locally-funded services like education and health care.

The cost of living in Springfield, like in many other cities with an influx of immigrants, is skyrocketing. According to Zillow, the median rental price in Springfield, Ohio, jumped by nearly 44 percent in September compared to the same month in 2023. Gas and food prices have increased dramatically, according to many residents, making the town unaffordable.

The impact that immigration poses to the capacity of public services like education is difficult to ascertain. Public school systems with sudden enrollment increases due to migrant arrivals need to accommodate a larger population of students with diverse needs, leading to overcrowding and competition for resources. The pandemic led to teacher shortages from which many schools have yet to recover, and in the wake of the current influx of migrants, schools are now in a hurry to find more staffing support, such as translators, social service workers, and medical professionals. This is difficult given the tight budgets the schools must manage.

On the other hand, increased immigrant presence in communities can increase the marginal benefits of staying in school for residents, providing a higher incentive to graduate high school. In theory, a wave of immigrants composed of more unskilled than skilled laborers will cause the gap between unskilled and skilled wages to grow, motivating more students to attain higher levels of education.

The effects of immigration on educational outcomes for a community seem to differ on a case-by-case basis. In the case of Springfield, the city has reported use of state funds to expand ESL programs and identified “lack of…adequate school resources” as a problem area, suggesting that in this case the net impact may be generally negative.

Social cohesion is also an important factor to weigh when evaluating communities’ ability to withstand large waves of immigration. In Springfield, there has been both public support and public outcry over the influx of Haitians.

The “constrict claim” argues that ethnic diversity tends to reduce social cohesion; studies find varying levels of support for this idea. Because social cohesion is an abstract concept and therefore difficult to measure, it can be difficult to predict the mark immigration will leave on the social landscape of a community. However, immigration has been particularly challenging socially for residents of Springfield. One resident describes his experience in a piece on Cincinnati.com, writing about a new lack of social norms and a notable uptick in car accidents.

Is Springfield unique?

Springfield is not the only locality in the United States with a large population of Haitian immigrants. According to the Migration Policy Institute, approximately 694,500 Haitian immigrants were residing in the United States between 2018 and 2022. Between 2019 and 2022, the state of Florida was home to nearly half of Haitian migrants in the United States. More generally, cities such as Des Moines, Iowa, and Charleston, South Carolina, have experienced huge increases in their migrant populations. These cities have experienced an economic resurgence and, with it, have been able to offer a wider array of social services and public goods. A local politician in Charleston sees this as both beneficial and worrying: As Charleston becomes a more attractive place to live, housing prices will increase, which may price some natives out of the market, who may in turn blame the migrants. This is the type of assumption that Donald Trump and JD Vance may be counting on.

This article was authored by UVA students Gabriela Dell’Anno, Jessica Drennamn, Esraa Elshouky, Renee Grutzik, Ilana Kaplan, Jenna Kimmel, Francisco Lizama, Charlotte McCarthy, Mukaii Mhaka, Paul Miller, Wynn Morris, Avery Sigler, Ella Stux, Bhavyasri Suggula, Keoni Vega, as part of a class taught by David Leblang, the Randolph P. Compton Professor and director of policy research at the Miller Center.