The Haitian immigrant controversy in Ohio.

Rumors about pet-eating immigrants drown out an important story.

I’m Isaac Saul, and this is Tangle: an independent, nonpartisan, subscriber-supported politics newsletter that summarizes the best arguments from across the political spectrum on the news of the day — then “my take.”

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Today's read: 13 minutes.

Tomorrow.

What election narratives are important? What polls should you be watching? What issues actually matter in the swing states? In tomorrow’s members-only Friday edition, Tangle managing editor Ari Weitzman is going to break it down. 

Quick hits.

1. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) scrapped a planned vote to avoid a government shutdown after opposition from fellow Republican lawmakers. (The decision)
2. President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Donald Trump, and his running mate Sen. J.D. Vance (OH) all attended a 9/11 memorial in New York on Wednesday. (The ceremony)
3. 67.1 million people watched the Harris-Trump debate, according to the media analytics company Nielsen. In June, roughly 51.3 million people tuned into the Biden-Trump debate. (The numbers)
4. Hurricane Francine made landfall in Louisiana yesterday as a Category 2 hurricane. It weakened to a tropical depression, and a state of emergency remains in effect in Mississippi. (The storm)
5. A bipartisan group of 42 state attorneys general demanded that Congress require Surgeon General warning labels on social media apps for children and young adults. (The letter)

Today's topic.

The Haitian immigrant controversy in Ohio. In Tuesday's presidential debate, former President Donald Trump claimed that migrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating residents’ pets, framing the alleged acts as symptomatic of the broader migrant crisis in the United States. The comment, which Springfield officials have said is false, set off a discussion about the implications of heightened levels of migration to towns like Springfield and a debate over the veracity of Trump’s claims. 

The background: In 1960, Springfield was a city of about 80,000 people. Its population dropped to about 59,000 by 2022, and Springfield officials estimate that approximately 20,000 Haitian immigrants have arrived in the city since the pandemic. Many Haitians are in the country legally, with Social Security numbers and work permits. The U.S. government provides cash assistance, medical assistance, employment preparation, job placement, English language training, and other services to Haitian migrants (as well as other nationalities) for up to 12 months through the Office of Refugee Resettlement. 

The rapid increase in Haitian migrants to Springfield has strained some of the city’s resources, particularly the healthcare, education, and housing systems. Local officials say elementary schools reported a surge in new enrollments, prompting the district to hire roughly two dozen teachers certified to teach English as a second language and several Haitian-Creole interpreters. Additionally, the city is experiencing a housing affordability crisis. Springfield’s housing authority director suggested that long-time residents have been priced out of homes by landlords who have discovered that Haitian migrants are willing to live together in large groups and pay higher rents. 

These access and affordability issues have caused tension between long-time Springfield residents and the migrant community. That tension was exacerbated in August 2023 when a Haitian migrant driving a minivan without a U.S. license crashed into a school bus carrying 52 elementary school students, killing one of the children. In the year since the crash, locals have increasingly spoken out against the immigrant community, and Ohio lawmakers like Sen. JD Vance (R) have amplified these complaints. 

However, many Springfield residents view the addition of Haitian immigrants as a boon for the community. In the past decade, the city has attracted several major businesses, boosting the economy but creating a labor shortage as Springfield’s population declined. Haitian immigrants have filled many of these open positions, and local business owners say they’ve been strong employees. 

What just happened: At a Springfield City Commission meeting in August, a resident claimed that he had seen Haitians beheading ducks at local parks and taking them home to eat. No evidence has emerged to support this specific claim, though similar claims have been echoed on Facebook and The Federalist published audio of a 911 call from a Springfield resident reporting a group of people (suggested to be immigrants) carrying four geese to their car. Then, a video went viral on social media showing a woman being arrested for purportedly killing and eating a cat; the suspect turned out to be an American woman, and the incident did not take place in Springfield. Another purported photograph of a Springfield migrant carrying a dead goose was found to have been taken in Columbus, Ohio.

City officials have emphatically denied these rumors. Still, prominent Republicans and influencers — including Trump, Vance, and X CEO Elon Musk — have repeated the claims in recent days. 

Today, we’ll explore the controversy over Trump’s comments at the debate and the tensions over migration in Springfield, with views from the right and left. Then, my take. 

What the right is saying.

• The right sympathizes with Springfield residents who object to the sudden increase in migration to their city. 
• Some argue this story is a reflection of Biden’s failed immigration policy.
• Others say the concerns of Springfield residents are being ignored. 

In PJ Media, Lincoln Brown asked “how much diversity is too much?”

“Amid the stories of ducks, geese, and housecats allegedly becoming carry-out dinners in Springfield and animal sacrifices in New York, there are also the issues of the impact of so many people on housing, services, and infrastructure and, for that matter, the danger to residents. One Springfield woman is dealing with immigrants threatening her, throwing garbage on her lawn, and trying to squat on her property,” Brown said. “I went to Haiti on a mission trip years ago. Given what I saw there, it is no surprise that Haitian illegal immigrants would feel entitled to throw garbage and squat in this woman's front yard. Haiti is a failed state, and crime and chaos reign.”

“If we are expected to turn a blind eye to these situations in the name of diversity, at what point do we say that allowing such latitude threatens the general welfare? At what point does the idea of ‘that's how they do it in their country’ cross a line,” Brown wrote. “It is worth noting that while Biden and the Left made sure we all knew about the dangers of white supremacy, they were attempting to divert attention from the influx of illegal immigrants to places like New York, Chicago, and, yes, Springfield. And now, many people are seeing the results of the administration's policy and misdirection.”

In The Washington Examiner, Zachary Faria wrote “forget the ducks: Biden’s border crisis is overwhelming communities.”

“Put aside the fantastical claims that Haitian immigrants are killing and eating cats and ducks in Ohio, and you can see that there is a real, undeniable problem: Communities are being overrun by the border crisis,” Faria said. “Former President Donald Trump repeated the claim that Haitian immigrants were killing and eating animals in Springfield, Ohio, during the debate on Tuesday because Trump can never make a good point when there is a good point to be made. Putting that aside, there is a real problem involving the surge of Haitian immigrants in Springfield.”

“Springfield City Schools had to hire translators for Haitian children who don’t speak English, leading to 10 times more spending on translation services alone. In 2023, a Haitian immigrant crashed into a school bus, killing one child and sending 26 more to the hospital on the first day of school,” Faria wrote. “This mirrors the problems in many places throughout the country, whether it be Ohio, New York City, Chicago, or small border towns in Texas and Arizona. Biden and the Democratic Party refuse to deport illegal immigrants or even keep them out of the country in the first place, leaving communities like Springfield to fend for themselves.”

In Hot Air, David Strom criticized the media’s reporting on the issue.

“The entire effort of the media is to ‘debunk’ the viral stories rather than investigate them. Perhaps they are true, perhaps not. Surely something is happening there. After all, no town could increase its population by a third with uneducated people from one of the most dysfunctional societies in the world without there being some problems,” Strom said. “Certainly, citizens are saying they are there, and nobody seems to even be interested in asking them what they think. I care about cats and dogs, but immigrants eating them (or not) isn't the story; it is the sense of helplessness and alienation that so many people in Springfield are feeling.”

“J.D. Vance had it right: people in Springfield deserve better, and part of that should be the media going to talk to them instead of deriding them as lying boobs. I guarantee you that NOT ONE of these media mavens would tolerate anything similar happening in their neighborhoods and that the local government would move heaven and earth to ensure it didn't,” Strom wrote. “Let me say it again: the story is not cats. It's people. People are having their lives turned upside down and the media has put a target on their backs because they are fine with it.”

What the left is saying.

• The left denounces the claims about Haitian migrants pushed by Trump and others as racist.
• Some say these politicians are propping up outlandish stories to distract from their policy failures in places like Springfield.
• Others argue Haitian migrants are a net positive for Springfield. 

In The Atlantic, Adam Serwer criticized the “gullible Mr. Trump.”

“Perhaps the most telling moment of last night’s debate was when former President Donald Trump, desperate for a compelling attack line against Vice President Kamala Harris, repeated the right-wing canard that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are stealing and eating people’s pets,” Serwer said. “This was a tremendously revealing response about how Trump’s brain works — and by extension the minds of his Fox News–captured supporters, who will simply believe anything they are told.”

“This falsehood, directed at a community that has done nothing wrong besides being from a different place than the surrounding residents, shows how much the Trump campaign’s strategy hinges on polluting the information environment with lies about vulnerable groups that Republicans want to blame for the country’s problems. But for all their dishonest catastrophizing about immigrants, Republicans offer no solutions, only boundless cruelty toward scapegoats,” Serwer said. “These smears of Haitian immigrants are dishonorable. They are cowardly. They are dishonest. And in that, they are as straightforward an example of the values of Trump-era conservatism as you could ask for.”

In The Columbus Dispatch, Amelia Robinson said Vance and other Republicans aren’t “doing anything to alleviate real problems facing communities like Springfield.”

“This time Vance is not downgrading childless cat-loving ladies, he is spreading nasty, hateful and undeniably racist rumors about the 15,000 to 20,000 Haitian immigrants who have moved to Springfield,” Robinson wrote. “The so-called reports Vance mentioned have been traced to a social media post linked to an incident in Canton — an Ohio city 2 hours and 46 minutes from Springfield… Could it be that Vance doesn't know the difference between Canton and Springfield and one woman and 20,000 women, men and children? Or maybe — just maybe — he is doing all the hatemongering he can before the November election?”

“Saying Springfield is struggling due to a housing shortage would clearly not be as sexy or divisive as implying the city is being overrun by cat murdering Haitians. Telling the truth would only draw attention to the fact that neither JD Vance nor Jim Jordan are doing anything to alleviate real problems facing communities like Springfield,” Robinson said. “Instead, they use their big, smart brains to create racist and nationalist tweets to appeal to the worst of human nature. Their rhetoric does not change the truth. The Haitians aren't eating cats in Springfield. They add to the community.”

In Noahpinion, Noah Smith wrote “yes, Haitians are good enough to be Americans.”

“Springfield’s story is typical — a small post-industrial Midwestern city that all the young people are moving away from, whose businesses have tried recruiting immigrants to make up for the lack of local workers,” Smith said. “As is common throughout American history, the workers ended up being mostly from one country, thanks to word-of-mouth reports from the first people who went there. Although plenty of rightists called the Haitians ‘illegals’, most of them were brought to Springfield legally… Obviously when 15,000 Haitians show up in a Midwestern town of 60,000 people, there are going to be tensions. But like most Midwestern towns, Springfield is handling the influx well.”

“Haiti itself is a desperately poor and horrifically violent country. Rightists would have us believe that this poverty and violence is due to characteristics — cultural and/or innate — of the Haitian people themselves… And yet when we look at how Haitians actually do in the U.S., that story seems to fall apart. For example, although Haitian immigrants tend to be less educated than Americans, their children tend to be more educated than the general population,” Smith wrote. “Haitian success in America, like all immigrant success, is due in part to the selectivity of America’s immigration system. If you have the money, the brains, the discipline, the personal initiative, and/or the risk tolerance to get out of Haiti, you’re probably unusually likely to do well no matter where you go.”

My take.

Reminder: "My take" is a section where I give myself space to share my own personal opinion. If you have feedback, criticism or compliments, don't unsubscribe. Write in by replying to this email, or leave a comment.

• We have to start with the rumors — and speak directly to what we actually know.
• The more important conversation is about the benefits and costs of immigration.
• Springfield shows how immigrants can help local economies while straining resources, and we can’t find solutions for that phenomenon if we don’t ask the right questions.

When I was a kid, there was a janitor at my elementary school we used to call "Sideburns Chuck." He was a heavyset guy with a big mustache, pale skin, angry-looking eyes and — yes — massive, bushy sideburns. He always smelled like cigarette smoke and always seemed pissed off. He yelled at kids a lot, as if he were the principal, and so all the kids hated him. We used to hypothesize about him: Did he live in his car? Did he kill the groundhogs on our school campus and eat them? Did he kidnap kids and lock them in the school shed? By the time I was in middle and high school, it was hard to remember what was real and what was rumor. Sometimes, it was hard to remember what I had made up and what I had been told by a "reliable" source.

I thought about him this week when reading about Springfield; I thought about the way rumors spread in small towns, how they become real, and how much faster they spread in the internet era. I thought about how they often germinate from a very real feeling about a very real happening, even if it might all sound ridiculous when you say it out loud. So, believe it or not, I actually want to examine the "Haitians eating pets" narrative for a moment — because as ridiculous as it might sound to some people, or as scary and believable as it might sound to others, it's actually a good example of how nonsense can spread on the internet.

You probably want to get right to it: Are Haitians eating people's pets in Springfield, Ohio? I can’t say “definitely not,” but I can strongly advise against putting your name on a claim like that. From digging in on this story (and yes, unfortunately, I did), it seems like it all stemmed from a Facebook post someone made claiming to have seen a Haitian migrant pulled over in a white van "filled with cats" and "confessing to police" that he was eating them — one YouTuber even found a local Springfield person who claims to have witnessed this (though his story does not sound very believable to me). Then another person claimed on Facebook to have heard secondhand that a Haitian neighbor had caught, skinned, and hung someone’s pet cat from a tree in their front yard for days (conspicuously absent were any photos or police reports).

These stories sparked an ember, which then spread like wildfire; people started sharing a photo of a man in Columbus, Ohio (not Springfield), carrying a dead goose as proof the stories were real (the photographer said the man was not Haitian). Then there was the video of an American woman (who was black), who was clearly in the midst of a mental health episode, in a different city being accused by police of killing and eating a cat. Not Haitian. Not in Springfield. Not even sure if she actually ate a cat. When the gossip rag TMZ tracks this stuff down and runs headlines like "Trump's tale unravels like a ball of string," maybe it’s time to give it a rest.

The aforementioned YouTuber who spoke to locals, funnily enough, also asked Springfield Haitians about the rumors. Their responses — unanimously — were confusion, laughter, and shock. That’s what you would expect from normal people wondering why the hell some kid with a camera and a microphone is asking them about eating people's pets.

Christopher Rufo, the conservative activist who regularly outs progressives for promoting far-left ideology in schools and workplaces, is offering a $5,000 “bounty” to anyone who can prove the cat story. So far, he's spent most of his time warning his followers not to kill and eat a cat to win $5,000. It's all rather silly. (Sidebar: In the midst of all this, Rufo also confirmed that he once tried to track down another cat rumor: gender-confused kids asking to use a litter box in class because they "identified as a cat." He never found any such story, and confirmed it was all a made-up urban legend despite it spreading online, much like this story.)

Is it possible some of these migrants are hunting local geese and ducks and cooking them for dinner? That sounds more plausible, and there is more evidence of it (i.e. multiple firsthand accounts, and even a police report). Do I find hunting local ducks somehow offensive? A little, I guess. Yet I'd bet many residents of Springfield spend their weekends hunting wild game, and a well-cooked duck is quite good, after all. Even if this is a real problem, I presume it wouldn't be hard to teach the new Haitian population about local hunting laws. And that’s assuming all the stories are true; but the complete dearth of photo evidence suggests otherwise.

The unfortunate thing about these distracting headlines is that they miss what is otherwise a very interesting, important, and compelling story about both the pros and cons of immigration — and how mass immigration can impact small American towns. The speed with which Springfield has changed is unique; but Springfield as a town is not. I give my share of criticism to The New York Times, so let me give a nod to Miriam Jordan, who wrote this excellent, balanced dispatch about what has been happening on the ground.

To some, the Haitian immigrants (who, to repeat, are there legally) are an unambiguous positive. They are being hailed by business owners as good workers who show up on time, mind their own business, don't do drugs, and work hard. Teachers say their children are enriching the learning environment and adding an interesting layer of diversity to the schools. Local church leaders say the pews are full again (many Haitians are devout Catholics). For landlords, they are tenants who will pay their rent on time and even pay more than they could get previously, because some are willing to live in groups inside a single-family home. To these people, Haitian immigrants are revitalizing the town — bringing back jobs, supporting industry, and making housing more competitive.

But many locals have a different perspective: Longtime Springfield residents are struggling, and some say they are being priced out of housing because the Haitian migrants arrive with jobs and government assistance. The Haitians are apparently having a very hard time driving safely in town, and have been involved in many accidents (more than just the one that killed 11-year-old Aidan Clark, whose dad has publicly asked people not to use his son to demonize the immigrant community). Healthcare services are harder to get. Schools are being pushed to their limits with enrollment. Budgets for social services are ballooning because of the need to hire Creole speakers and ESL teachers.

This story — one where a wave of immigrants can simultaneously help revitalize certain industries while also pushing government resources and housing to the brink — this is a fascinating story about how immigration in the U.S. works today. It is big and messy and not unambiguously good or bad. It's the story we should be talking about, and solving for.

We might discuss, for instance, why Haitian immigrants with jobs are being given a year of food stamps and government assistance through refugee programs when they are gainfully employed with stable housing. We might debate why these services seem more accessible to immigrants than to local U.S. residents. We might discuss how to better train foreign citizens to drive in the U.S. before they put themselves and their neighbors in danger. We might ask what kind of programs the employers (who clearly want these workers) or local religious groups can provide to lessen the burden on government services that are being overwhelmed so that veterans don’t have to wait in line for hours to receive their benefits.

These are the conversations we should be having — not debates over rumors about pet cats being eaten or geese getting caught in local ponds. It’s worth noting that many conservative commentators have acknowledged the “cat-eating” story was not based in truth and tried to shift the discourse toward a more productive debate about immigration. But as long as conservative influencers or the Republican presidential nominee refuse to back off these falsehoods, the important discussions will remain sidetracked.

These immigrants are here, so how do we harness the good and mitigate the bad? 20,000 people from a desperately poor and violent country came to a small town with a clearly stated desire: They want to work. They have a different culture, a different language, and a desire to build a good life among their neighbors. Some will be bad apples, but most will do their best to make a living and get along with their neighbors (even the ones who call them "sand monkeys" when they commit the crime of waving hello).

So what can we do? How can we solve that problem, or preempt it in the first place? How can we embrace a population wanting to work while also not overlooking the population that is already here? The answer will often be to put limits on mass migration, but we also need solutions for the more complex reality of when the migration has already happened. 

I don’t have all the answers, but I’d love it if we started by asking the right questions.

Take the survey: What do you think about immigration to small towns like Springfield? Let us know!

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Under the radar.

Over the span of 2023, Americans used just over 100 trillion megabytes of wireless data, a 36% increase over 2022 and the largest single-year increase in wireless data consumption, according to an industry survey released on Tuesday. And while usage is soaring, Congress is stalling. In March 2023, Congress let the Federal Communications Commission's authority to auction use of the radio frequency spectrum used for wireless data lapse for the first time in three decades over a debate on what to reserve for use by the Department of Defense. "There is no pipeline of spectrum for 5G," said Meredith Attwell Baker, CEO of CTIA, a firm that represents major wireless carriers. "The wireless industry needs access to more full-power, licensed spectrum." Reuters has the story.

Numbers.

• 58,645. The population of Springfield, OH, in 2022, according to Data USA. 
• 97.8%. The percentage of Springfield residents who were U.S. citizens in 2022, down from 98.5% in 2021. 
• 17.4%. The percentage of Springfield’s population that was black or African American (non-Hispanic) in 2022. 
• 18.8%. The percentage of Springfield’s population that was black or African American (non-Hispanic) in 2020, according to the U.S. Census. 
• +$393,000. The approximate increase (from $43,000 to $436,000) in annual spending on Haitian Creole translation services at a federally subsidized clinic in Springfield between 2020 and 2024, according to the health center’s CEO.
• +$275. The year-over-year increase from 2023 to 2024 in median rent price in Springfield, according to Zillow. 
• 55%. The percentage of Americans who want immigration to the U.S. to decrease, according to a June 2024 Pew Research survey.
• 28%. The percentage of Americans who wanted immigration to the U.S. to decrease in May 2020.
• 61%. The percentage of U.S. voters who believe America’s openness to people from all over the world is essential to who we are as a nation. 

The extras.

• One year ago today we covered the first amendment challenge to the Biden administration.
• The most clicked link in yesterday’s newsletter was the Snopes fact-check on Trump’s “very fine people” quote.
• Nothing to do with politics: JELL-O’s new line of inflatable furniture.
• Yesterday’s survey: 2,711 readers responded to our survey on the presidential debate with 85% saying Harris won. “If this debate was actually, as claimed, to ‘introduce’ VP Harris to voters, and to contrast her with Mr. Trump, I have to quote an NFL reference to the Bears a few years ago: ‘They are who we thought they were,’” one respondent said.

Have a nice day.

In one neighborhood in Victoria, Canada, a series of Little Free Libraries had been vandalized such that they could no longer be used. Roger Barker, a local resident, decided to rectify the situation. He repaired two of the libraries and created a third one whole-cloth, then decorated the boxes with inspiring quotes and added charming details — such as a toy piano in one library’s attic. Adam Sawatsky, a reporter in the area, noted that Barker’s acts demonstrate that “we can decide to make a story that begins with destruction end with the creation of something even better.” CTV News has the story. 

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