HARRIS SOARS AT PHILLY DEBATE, TRUMP DEPLOYS OLD AND NEW LIES DENIGRATING IMMIGRANTS
It seems like months ago, but the big Harris-Trump debate happened just last Tuesday. The nearly universal assessment was that Trump hurt himself and Vice President Harris masterfully helped him do so and as many people predicted – including America’s Voice – immigration played a big role. Trump deployed old and new lies to denigrate immigrants and people of color including lying about crime and free surgeries for trans migrants. But what got the most attention was his repeating the debunked Internet lies about Haitian immigrants in Ohio eating family pets. Yes, it received some appropriate laughter from the Vice President and lots of mocking from everyone else – which helped this outrageous lie cross over from the world of politics into pop culture. But it was also a deadly serious accusation by the former President that he has repeated and which is putting Haitians and other Black Americans in harm’s way. AV helped organize a joint statement this week with the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, HIAS, and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs stating in part that “public officials and leaders have an important role to play in publicly and forcefully denouncing the dehumanizing rhetoric that has violent downstream consequences.” On Thursday, AV organized a virtual press conference to discuss and expand on topics raised during the debate with experts on the anti-immigrant messaging and advertising of the GOP (Zachary Mueller of AV, see the new report he authored here), the effort to use disinformation about non-citizen voting to restrict voting rights (Jonah Minkoff-Zern of Public Citizen‘s Democracy Campaign), Latino public opinion on immigration (Caitlin Jury at Equis) and the economic data on what a disaster mass deportation has been and would be if tried again (Economics Professor Robert Lynch of Washington College, see the report he coauthored here). AV Executive Director Vanessa Cárdenas said on the press call: “All of us watched the debate and saw former President Trump continue his singular focus on demonizing immigrants. We also saw Trump avoid a direct question, just as he did during the Biden debate, about who he would target and how he would conduct the mass deportation plan he and Project 2025 are promising…” Read more and watch a recording of the virtual press call here.
DEHUMANIZING LIES THREATEN SPRINGFIELD’S HAITIAN COMMUNITY – AND BEYOND
The Haitian-American community in Ohio and beyond is feeling targeted and unsafe because the Trump campaign’s dehumanizing, debunked and racist lies that Black immigrants are stealing and eating pets are being advanced at the highest levels of American politics – and are still being repeated. These old, racist tropes have historically put targets on people’s backs, and it is turbo-charged in the era of MAGA, when political violence has become commonplace. Tragically, we are already seeing the escalation toward real-world violence, following the evacuation of several buildings and schools in Springfield. Some families have also reported being harassed. “What’s the potential response from an unhinged supporter hearing those words and believing those threats?” asked Vanessa Cárdenas. It is more violence like the Haitian community is fearful of, and that we saw at a Walmart in El Paso in 2019. “The majority of Americans who reject this dark and dystopic vision and the lies courting violence should come together to denounce this outrageous spectacle of hatred and to chart a different direction for our nation,” she said. Read more here.
TRUMP PROMISES ‘BLOODY’ MASS DEPORTATION AND MASS RETRIBUTION
During yet another unhinged rant at a campaign rally in Wisconsin last weekend, Trump horrifically promised that his unsparing mass deportation plans targeting millions of long-settled immigrants “will be a bloody story.” Later, in a similarly demented post on his Truth Social account, Trump went into explicit detail on his plans for those he views as political enemies, including “jail” for Democratic donors and political operatives opposed to the MAGA movement. While these threats of violence against immigrant communities and retribution against political opponents are nothing new for Trump – six months ago, Trump warned a potential loss in 2024 would result in a “bloodbath,” the Washington Post’s Aaron Blake reminded – we cannot afford to ignore or become numb to his demagoguery. This is not just about immigrant communities, it is fundamentally about who we are as a nation, Vanessa Cárdenas responded. “Mass arrest and deportation is the signature immigration and economic issue of his campaign and a keystone of his larger plans for violent retribution against anyone who doesn’t fit into his vision of MAGA America,” she said. Read more here.
HARRIS PULVERIZED TRUMP, BUT SHE CAN’T REST ON HER LAURELS
In her weekly column, America’s Voice consultant Maribel Hastings writes that Vice President Harris put Trump “on the ropes and the defense” during their debate this week, highlighting her policy plans while pummeling Trump on his failures as president, destructive plans for the nation should he return to power in January, and alarming incoherence. Proving her point, Trump used some of his debate time to continue promoting the disgusting, racist lies about Haitian immigrants who contribute to their Ohio community. “And although Harris swept the floor with Trump in this debate, if there is a lesson there for the Vice President, it is that she should not leave anything to chance, as evidenced by Hillary Clinton’s experience versus Trump in 2016,” Hastings cautioned, pointing to that campaign’s lack of presence in critical states needed to solidify an electoral college win. “Let’s remember that Clinton lost the presidential election to Trump by just 117,850 votes in three key states: Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Democrats had not lost these states since 1992. Despite Trump’s sad spectacle in the debate, Harris cannot rest on her laurels.” Her column was also published in several outlets, including La Opinión, El Diario NY, and Radio Bilingüe. Read her column in English here and Spanish here.
THE BIG LIE 2.0
After losing the election in 2020, Trump and his allies cultivated the Big Lie that the election had been stolen as they sought to overturn the legitimate results of a fair and secure election, culminating with the deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. While a handful of Republicans joined Democrats to impeach Trump for his role in inciting the insurrection, the moment of consideration was brief. The GOP has since adopted the bigoted lie that noncitizens are polluting the ballot box with fraudulent votes as their Big Lie 2.0, AV Senior Research Director Zachary Mueller writes. We should not be fooled by Republicans’ claims that this is simply about voter integrity. They are using this lie to justify voter suppression and intimidation tactics against U.S. citizens and set the stage to use immigrants as an excuse to stage another attack on democracy should they lose in November. “This is not a problem we can afford to ignore,” Mueller writes. “The nativist election denial that is the Big Lie 2.0 courts more political violence like we saw on Jan. 6, is actively being used as a means to suppress the vote of U.S. citizens, and is building towards authoritarianism. This is their plan and we must directly confront it.” Read more here.
WHEN IMMIGRANTS SUCCEED, AMERICA SUCCEEDS
Immigrants are key to America’s economic success, consultant Clara Trullenque shares in a new video from America’s Voice. For example, about 17% of new companies in the U.S. were founded by immigrants, despite representing only 14% of the general population. These immigrant entrepreneurs are also job creators, employing more than eight million people. It’s clear: when immigrants can get ahead, America gets ahead. Click here to share our video and help spread the word about the positive contributions of immigrants.
HAITIAN IMMIGRANTS ‘DESERVE RESPECT AND DIGNITY’
When Trump spreads horrific lies about immigrants in Ohio, he’s lying about people like Luckens Merzius. He’s among the Haitian immigrants who live and work in Springfield. The blue-collar town had been hemorrhaging residents – “that is, until the last few years,” PBS News reported. Once-empty church pews are again filling with congregants and businesses are coming back to life thanks to new Haitian neighbors. “I wish I had 30 more,” said one local business owner. “Our Haitian associates come to work every day.” But since Trump’s attacks, these community members have been facing harassment, Haitian Times reported. Some are even contemplating leaving. These families need to know that we have their backs. “Haitians, like all immigrants, contribute positively to the cultural and economic fabric of this nation,” said Haitian Bridge Alliance, “and such divisive rhetoric serves only to inflame tensions and distract from meaningful dialogue about the real issues facing our communities.” Alianza Americas said Haitian immigrants deserve respect and dignity. “These statements are not only disrespectful to the thousands of Haitians living in Ohio, but endanger the lives of all immigrants who are valued contributors to our communities across the country,” said the Florida Immigrant Coalition. “We won’t stand for being scapegoats for a failing campaign.”
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