Haitian Immigration Lawyer Says Ohio Clients Are Panicked amid New Wave of Hate: 'Everyone Is Disheartened' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Donald Trump and J.D. Vance have been spreading an unfounded rumor about Haitian immigrants eating people’s pets in Ohio.Photo:Jim WATSON/getty

Jim WATSON/getty

In the days since Republican White House candidatesDonald TrumpandJ.D. Vanceplatformed a baseless conspiracy theory about Haitian people eating neighbors' pets in Springfield, Ohio, migrants who sought refuge from violence in the Caribbean have faced new types of threats.

“I’ve had some of my clients reaching out and asking me, ‘Well, what do we do now? Given what’s happening in Ohio, should we be looking for another place to relocate? What impact will that have on our immigration case?’ " says Lana Marcius Joseph, a Haitian-born immigration lawyer who represents clients around the United States, including in Springfield.

The Dayton suburb has recently become home to thousands of Haitian citizens fleeing a surge of gang violence, who were granted temporary legal status in the U.S. through ahumanitarian parole program. The relatively new immigration process involves careful security vetting, and is unrelated to the mass migration of Haitians who entered the States at the southern border.

A police tank patrols Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on June, 28, 2024 as gunshots are heard near the National Palace.CLARENS SIFFROY/AFP via Getty

CLARENS SIFFROY/AFP via Getty

Joseph tells PEOPLE that the Haitian parolees who settled in Springfield are more educated than most people realize, several with backgrounds in medicine, law and business.

“These are people who are prominent in their own community, doing great work, but now they have to migrate here in the United States and are trying to figure out how to navigate this whole system and the culture itself,” she says. “Many of them have had to leave their houses [in Haiti], everything that they have worked for, just to save their lives.”

Former President Donald Trump after the Sept. 10, 2024, presidential debate.Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty

Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty

The following day — at the first presidential debate between former President Trump and Vice PresidentKamala Harris— Trumpamplified the conspiracy theorywhile deflecting from a question about why he pressured his party to kill the Senate’s bipartisan border security bill back in January.

“Look at what’s happening to the towns all over the United States,” he said, of immigration. “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.”

ABC News' David Muir, who co-moderated the debate, refuted his claim; Harris chuckled in disbelief before shaking her head with a concerned look.

She continues: “Taking away the skin, the culture, the language, we all bleed the red blood all the same.”

Lana Marcius Joseph (third from left) with her family.KIMBERLY/Lotus Lens Photography

KIMBERLY/Lotus Lens Photography

Joseph is based out of Atlanta, but says that in the tight-knit Haitian community, “When one of us is hurt, all of us are hurting.” In Ohio, she adds, there’s been a renewed sense of hurt.

“You have a lot of young children who are in school, and so many of them who have migrated here recently, and this makes it very difficult for them to adapt,” she explains, noting that there have been examples of bullying and name-calling. “Everyone is very disheartened.”

On Thursday morning, a bomb threat was made against Springfield City Hall and other buildings in the town of 60,000 people, including an elementary school. Springfield Mayor Rob Rue toldThe Washington Postthat the threat “used hateful language towards immigrants and Haitians in our community.”

“Springfield is a community that needs help,” Rue said in an interview with thePost, calling on national leaders to offer help rather than “hurt a community like, unfortunately, we have seen over the last couple of days.”

Spectrum News 1 Ohioreports that several additional school buildings were evacuated on Friday, Sept. 13, per guidance from the local police.

A note on the door of Fulton Elementary School in Springfield, Ohio, after it was evacuated on Sept. 12, 2024, due to a bomb threat.ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty

ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty

“Many of our clients, they’re actually telling me, ‘How do we continue this process? How do you expedite my process so maybe this can be finalized before the election?’ " she says. “Because in their mind, they are thinking … ‘If [President] Trump is in power, what exactly is our future going to look like?’ "

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Remembering her own immigration experience when she was younger, she tells PEOPLE that it’s tough to see.

“The resilience and determination of the Haitian people are truly inspiring,” she says.

“If people are able to look beyond these disparaging claims, you will find that we are loving people who just need a chance to continue living our life and thriving and contributing to this great country that we call America.”

source: people.com