Haitian immigration lawyer says clients in Ohio panicked by new wave of hate: Exclusive

Since Republican White House candidates Donald Trump and JD Vance spread a baseless conspiracy theory about Haitians eating their neighbors’ pets in Springfield, Ohio, migrants seeking refuge in the Caribbean from the violence have faced new threats.

“Some of my clients have contacted me and asked, ‘Well, what do we do now? Given what’s happening in Ohio, do we need to find another place to move? How does that impact our immigration case?’” says Lana Marcius Joseph, a Haitian-born immigration attorney who represents clients across the United States, including in Springfield.

The suburb of Dayton has recently become home to thousands of Haitian citizens fleeing a wave of gang violence who have been granted temporary legal status in the U.S. through a humanitarian parole program. The relatively new immigration process involves careful security checks and is unrelated to the mass migration of Haitians who entered the United States through the southern border.

“I would say at least 80 to 90 percent of Port-au-Prince is controlled by gangs, and they make it impossible to live there because you can’t go to work, or you can be home and hear gunfire everywhere,” Joseph says of Haiti’s capital. “It’s very traumatizing, and so many residents have to deal with the reality of: Do I want to come here to the United States, with the ability to come here legally, and start my life over? Or do I risk my life every day in the hope that maybe I can make it?”

Joseph tells PEOPLE that the Haitian freedmen who have settled in Springfield are better educated than most people think. Some have backgrounds in medicine, law and business.

“These are people who are prominent in their own communities, who are doing great work, but now they have to migrate here to the United States and try to figure out how to navigate this whole system and the culture itself,” she says. “A lot of them have had to leave their homes (in Haiti), everything they’ve worked for, just to save their lives.”

On Monday, September 9, Ohio Senator Vance — now the Republican vice presidential nominee — claimed, without evidence, that Springfield residents’ pets had been “kidnapped and eaten” by Haitian migrants. Numerous local officials quickly jumped in to say the allegations were false.

“Following recent reports of criminal activity by immigrants in our city, we want to make it clear that there have been no credible reports or specific allegations that pets have been abused, injured or mistreated by individuals within the immigrant community,” Karen Graves, Springfield’s strategic engagement manager, said in a statement to PEOPLE.

The next day — during the first presidential debate between former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris — Trump amplified the conspiracy theory while dodging questions about why he pressured his party in January to kill the Senate’s bipartisan border security bill.

“Look what’s happening to the cities in the United States,” he said of immigration. “In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs, the people that came here. 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-hosted the debate, denied his claim. Harris laughed in disbelief before shaking her head with a concerned look.

Joseph, whose family emigrated from Haiti by boat in 1991, called Trump’s comments shameful and hurtful.

“I was shocked when I sat there and heard this man say these things on national television. And I’m watching this, and millions of people are watching this, not just in the United States, but all over the world,” she said. “Putting these kinds of ideas out there just divides us. It doesn’t do anything positive or unite us in any way, but it’s just a way to attack us again.”

She continues: “If you take away the skin, the culture and the language, we all bleed the same red blood.”

Joseph lives in Atlanta, but says that in the close-knit Haitian community, “when one of us hurts, we all hurt.” In Ohio, she adds, there is a renewed sense of pain.

“You have a lot of young children going to school, and so many of them have recently migrated here, and it makes it very difficult for them to adjust,” she explains, noting that there are instances of bullying and name-calling. “Everyone is very discouraged.”

A bomb threat was called in Thursday morning at Springfield City Hall and other buildings in the city of 60,000, including an elementary school, Springfield Mayor Rob Rue said. The Washington Post that the threat “used hate speech against immigrants and Haitians in our community.”

“Springfield is a community that needs help,” Rue said in an interview with the Afterin which he called on national leaders to offer assistance rather than “hurt a community as we have unfortunately seen in recent days.”

Spectrum News 1 Ohio reports that several more school buildings were evacuated on Friday, September 13, in accordance with local police guidelines.

Joseph claims that several people she represents have been “traumatised” by recent political events and feel pressured to process their immigration cases under time pressure.

“A lot of our clients are actually asking me, ‘How can we move this process along? How do you expedite my process so that maybe we can get this done before the election?'” she says. “Because in their head, they’re thinking … ‘If (President) Trump is in office, what exactly does our future look like?'”

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She thinks back to her own immigration experience when she was younger and tells PEOPLE it’s hard to watch.

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

“If people can look past these derogatory statements, you will find that we are loving people who just need a chance to get on with our lives, thrive and contribute to this great country we call America.”