MIAMI – The city of North Miami, with a majority Haitian council, including the mayor, condemned racist comments targeting Haitians.
The council members, personally affected by the derogatory remarks, unanimously passed a resolution to counteract the negative impact of the comments, which have also affected local youth.
The council members expressed that immigrants are integral to the community and should be included, not targeted with hate speech.
The mayor also wrote to the mayor of Springfield, Ohio, and is considering a visit to address the issue further.
“It’s very hurtful. It’s very painful, and we are dealing with the effect of those words, those remarks,” said Mayor Alix Desulme. He says he’s not alone, as a good majority of the city’s population is also Haitian.
“Immigrant folks like myself. We come here, you know, to work hard, and that’s what we are,” he added.
He said the comments made by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Vice President candidate JD Vance, regarding Haitian immigrants, hit home.
“They’re eating the dogs, the people that came in. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating they’re eating the pets,” Trump said during the presidential debate.
The city’s vice mayor, Mary Estimé-lrvin, who also is a chairwoman for the National Haitian American Elected Official Network has said the comments have had a negative impact on not just Haitian adults.
“Last week, high schoolers, some of them, they want to go to school. They’re being teased about whether they’re eating pets,” she said.
At Tuesday’s city council meeting, each council member took the time to express their concerns regarding the comments before passing the resolution unanimously, with the hopes that it sends a message across the area.
“First of all, immigrants have been the fabric of this community, and that even though we are different, we are diverse, and we should be included, and hate should never be in our speech, period,” she added.
The North Miami mayor also shared that he wrote a letter to the mayor of Springfield, Ohio, and said that he’s looking into taking a trip to the city in North Miami.
