Trump’s comments about Haitian immigrants spark a storm of indignation in Florida

When a group of 50 Democrats of Caribbean descent gathered in a south Florida suburb to watch the presidential debate this week, the room filled with stunned laughter as former President Trump repeated the baseless rumor that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were stealing dogs and cats to eat.

“How can this person be a presidential candidate?” asks Guithele Ruiz-Nicolas, former president of the Haitian American Democratic Club of Broward County, which includes Fort Lauderdale.

The laughter quickly turned to anger, says Ruiz-Nicolas, who came to the United States with her parents as a child in the 1960s and experienced new and shocking levels of bigotry toward her people, who she says had long been welcomed with open arms.

“Our best revenge is to go out and mobilize voters,” Ruiz-Nicolas said, adding that Trump’s comments had sparked new efforts to achieve that goal.

Florida is an underdog for Democrats. Trump won the state twice, including in 2020 by a margin of 3 percentage points. And since then, the state has become more Republican with the overwhelming re-election of Governor Ron DeSantis in 2022.

But the region was already considered a contested one, and recent polls show Trump with a two to six percentage point lead over Vice President Kamala Harris. That, and a referendum on abortion rights that could attract liberal voters, have given Democrats a glimmer of hope that they can at least be competitive and perhaps win some elections.

The state’s Haitian-American population is estimated at about 500,000, is the largest in the country, and overwhelmingly votes Democratic.

Haitian immigrants who fled economic and political instability in South Florida have taken numerous seats on city and county commissions, the state legislature and Congress. Haitian doctors and nurses staff hospitals in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and the surrounding suburbs. Many newer immigrants take backbreaking jobs that native Floridians reject.

“Let’s be clear: Haitians and other immigrants come to this country with the goal of getting an education, working hard and building a better life, not just for themselves but for all of us,” said Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Haitian-American Democrat from South Florida, in a statement. “They contribute to our economy, enrich our culture and strengthen our communities. Trump’s comments distract from the real problems we face and we will not be fooled.”

Estimates put the number at between 100,000 and 300,000 Haitian-Americans, but Fernand Amandi, a Democratic pollster based in Miami, said they probably make up less than 1% of the voting population. Many were already motivated to vote for Harris, the daughter of a Jamaican immigrant who has guided the Biden administration’s foreign policy in the Caribbean.

“In Florida, we saw the state and the presidency decided by 537 votes, so any group can potentially influence an election or even the presidency,” Amandi said, referring to the Sunshine State’s victory in the disputed 2000 election. “I just don’t think that’s possible in 2024.”

Amandi said it was “plausible but unlikely” that Florida would turn blue in the event of a Harris landslide victory nationally.

Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that “the media is trying to distract the American people from the very real problems plaguing the residents of Springfield, Ohio,” and blamed the “sudden influx of migrants” for rising rents, overcrowded schools and public safety incidents.

Trump’s 2020 victory in Florida came after he called Haiti a “shithole country.”

This comment also hurt.

“We relive this movie every time there is the tragedy of immigrants being forced to leave their countries,” says Gepsie Morisset-Metellus, co-founder and executive director of the Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center, a neighborhood assistance center in North Miami.

Morisset-Metellus said she is particularly concerned about the Haitian residents of Springfield, Ohio, who face threats and intimidation from racists, according to published reports that have spread throughout the Haitian diaspora. Most of them are in the country legally and came to the area because of jobs and a growing support network of fellow immigrants.

Morisset-Metellus said community members are outraged and are considering what action to take, but she is certain about one of them.

“People have always been interested in these elections and the Haitian-American community is a very engaged voting group and people don’t miss elections,” she said. “They’re interested in it.”