A non-partisan look at the situation.
By Dr. Justin Mudekereza, President & CEO of Rescue Democracy International.
Elections in the United States of America have always been contentious, where partisan thinking often takes center stage over objectivity. As the divide between the left and the right widens, we see more and more outlandish claims propagated by all sides of the spectrum to satisfy their constituents. There is no better example of this than during the recent ABC Presidential Debate when former president and current presidential candidate Donald Trump said: “In Springfield, they are eating the dogs. The people who came in were eating cats. They’re eating – they are eating the pets of the people that live there.”
Many saw this claim as just another racist assertion by Donald Trump, who has been known for his anti-immigrant rhetoric. Various media outlets such as the BBC, NBC, and Reuters, among others, came forward to dispute and debunk these claims. They stated that there was no evidence of Haitian immigrants stealing and eating pets in Ohio, specifically Springfield. Indeed, it seemed that the former president and his running mate, J.D Vance, were simply repeating Internet rumors with little substance behind them.
We are led to believe that these rumors spread from an unsubstantiated viral Facebook post where a person was talking about Haitian immigrants killing and eating cats and geese. Posts like this and many similar ones spread like wildfire on the Internet, with no shortage of memes as well. However, despite all that, how far-fetched would it be that a group of people in dire straits would try to survive in any way they can?
Many people condemned the statement on the alleged use of pets as food by illegal immigrants due to its racist undertones. However, no one has tried to check if that could be possible and why illegal immigrants could be eating pets. In my career in humanitarian aid, I have seen how refugees and immigrants struggle and the hardships they endure just to survive. I have seen starving people eat what they have never eaten in their lives before.
In 2018, while working as the Executive Director of New Neighbor Relief, a nonprofit organization assisting refugees and asylum seekers in California, I published a book titled Understanding the Multifaceted Management Problems of Refugee Resettlement in the United States of America – The Only War that the United States is Unlikely to Win. This book depicts the hardships refugees go through after their resettlement in the United States. Later on, in 2019, I published another book titled Shithole Countries. I wrote this book when former President Donald Trump asked, “Why do people from shithole countries come to the U.S.?” Many voices rose to condemn his statement. Still, I tried to look at the question with another eye, knowing that my country, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), was actually turned into a “shithole country.” Instead of condemning him for his statement, I rather tried to look at the reasons why my country and many others were called that name.
Furthermore, in the same book I tried to analyze whether some of the countries known as “developed countries” would be called under the same name. I felt that the U.S. was at risks to become one of those “shithole countries”. It wasn’t long after that a new movement emerged called “Black Lives Matter” which resulted in numerous riots across the country.
Now, with this perspective, let’s look at the matter objectively. The situation could be possible considering the following:
· The number of illegal immigrants who cross the borders every month is significant.
·
According
to BBC, around 250,000 migrants were caught crossing the border in December
2023. In April 2024, the U.S. Border Patrol recorded 128,900 encounters between
ports of entry along the southwest border. While these numbers have been
decreasing, it is still a major concern for many.
· They come from different countries, with customs and traditions that many Americans might not be accustomed to. In some countries, pets are used as food. In my country (the DR Congo), for instance, in the Center, dogs are eaten by the Luba tribe. In contrast, in the East, cats are eaten by the Lega, the Tembo, my own tribe, the Shi, and many others. It is not a secret to anyone that dogs, and maybe cats, are eaten in China too. While the current claims are about the Haitian immigrants, who are not known to eat cats and dogs, hardship and starvation can and often do push people to do just about anything they can do to survive, which brings me to the final factor.
· The hardships illegal/immigrants and refugees go through in this country can be severe. Similarly, it can take a long time for an immigrant/refugee to actually get a job and be able to care for their families, whether legal or illegal immigrants.
I can speak from my own experience. I came to the United States legally and sought political asylum. Before I was allowed to work, I suffered on the
streets and had little to no means to survive (before miracles happened). I should perhaps count myself lucky that I was alone at that time. My children and their mother were left back in Africa, waiting for me to be granted asylum and be allowed to bring them. Now, imagine what would have happened if I were in the country with my children, not allowed to work for more than a year, and happened to see a cat passing by when I did not have food to eat and feed my family. Many would say that I am only discussing the hypothetical and that there is no evidence of that actually happening. We can discuss a few instances that might substantiate these statements.
The Federalist published a report that detailed a caller who called the police when they saw a group of Haitian migrants carrying four geese in Springfield, Ohio. This is not the only such case out there. The Federalist mentions many such testimonies of Springfield residents. Christopher Rufo, a writer and activist, also published an article on Substack that detailed a few instances of African immigrants grilling what appeared to be cats on an outdoor grill, with several of them being easily shown in the background. However, these were in Dayton, not in Springfield, even though the two cities are nearby. Instead of turning this into a political debate, I mean to ask why these immigrants are resorting to such activities in the first place.
My analysis of the situation is not intended to exonerate the statements made by former President Donald Trump and his running mate, nor am I arguing for the expulsion of illegal immigrants from America. I simply mean to state that people were quick to condemn former President Trump’s statement on the usage of pets for food, but they were unable to ask questions such as:
· How is the U.S. government taking care of the illegal/immigrants that it lets in?
· How long does it take an illegal/immigrant to get an Employment Authorization Card also known as work permit?
· How long does it take an illegal/immigrant or a refugee to access employment and take care of his/her family?
· How long does it take to an (illegal) immigrant or a refugee to renew a work permit once expired?
· How long does it for an illegal or a legal immigrant to get an immigration hearing and have the asylum granted?
And many other questions that can help America grapple with its immigrant crisis.
Instead of being simply a political issue, this has become a human right and a humanitarian concern. If it is okay to open borders for everyone and allow them to enter in order to save their lives, the government must take steps to preserve those lives as well. Once immigrants or refugees are assimilated, they should be taken care of and given appropriate means to live their lives in peace. This will mitigate the cultural divide and racial tensions that might occur.
Instead of taking this situation from a political perspective, I urge the U.S. government to take the immigration system seriously because immigrants (legal or illegal) are human beings. For me, it does not make sense to open borders widely and not take responsibility for the consequences that come with it. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness require treating human beings as human beings and providing opportunities for a better quality of life.
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References
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c77l28myezko
https://christopherrufo.com/p/the-cat-eaters-of-ohio
