It’s been over a month since the Trump vs Harris presidential debate, which took place on Tuesday, September 10, 2024. Donald Trump infamously made claims about migrants, saying that they’re eating cats and dogs, and since then, this rhetoric has not simmered down but instead has been amplified even more.

“In his Friday night speech, Trump, a former president, repeated false and misleading claims about immigrants in the US, leaning into nativist sentiment as he campaigns for a second term.” As stated in an Aljazeera article.

Even his running mate, J.D. Vance, has enabled the situation by insisting that cat memes will help reinforce their racist beliefs. “J.D. Vance invited the internet Tuesday to “keep the cat memes flowing,” hoping to spread cartoonishly racist rumors that Haitian immigrants in Ohio had begun eating at house pets (which even he acknowledged were probably untrue).”

Associate Writer Edith Olmsted stated in an article for The New Republic. This offensive rhetoric is a dark reflection of the Trump campaign, and it paints a terrifying image of what Donald Trump could do towards immigrants if he should be reelected for public office, but what this also does is create a dark and terrifying scenario where immigrants are put in danger because of Donald Trump’s rhetoric.

“…as a result of Trump and Vance repeating these immigrant falsehoods, there have been bomb threats at schools, hospitals, and colleges, intimidating parading in the streets by Proud Boy groups, racist messages, and a community left humiliated and afraid.” Professor Ernesto Castañeda stated in an American University article. These bomb threats took place in Springfield, Ohio, where there have been at least 33 bombs created due to the misinformation of the Trump campaign.

Thankfully, these bomb threats were proven to be hoaxes, but some of them were targeting Springfield schools, which included elementary school campuses. Approximately 58,000 schools in the city also had to be evacuated due to bomb threats being reported. “Our children deserve to be in school. Parents deserve to feel that their children are being educated and that their children are safe,” Governor Mike DeWine stated in an NBC News article.

City Hall became an unwanted target as well due to misinformation about migrants. The bomb threat was issued to multiple facilities in Springfield, in which residents were instructed to avoid the area involving city hall. During a press conference, it was reported that at least six buildings, including an elementary school, had to be closed and investigated due to the bomb threat. Springfield’s Mayor Rob Rue explained that the bomb threat included complaints about Haitian migrants in the city.

As you can already tell, innocent civilians and residents of Springfield, Ohio, are being wrongfully targeted and placed in danger simply because of the dangerous lies and misinformation coming from Donald Trump.

“Springfield has recently been thrust into the national political culture war as conservative influencers and Republican politicians have repeated a debunked claim that immigrants from Haiti have been stealing and eating pets.” National Reporter Alicia Victoria Lozano stated in an NBC News article.

Alicia reported that other Republicans have chimed in to repeat the same offensive lines as well. Vice Presidential candidate J.D. Vance took to social media, saying, “People have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country.” Senator Ted Cruz also went on social media to post an image of two cats with a caption saying: “Please vote for Trump so Haitian immigrants don’t eat us.”

Misinformation about migrants has even caused a negative effect to take place on mental health as well. Clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst Dr. Oksana Yakushko has done extensive research on the psychological impact that misinformation has when it comes to dehumanizing migrant communities.

“Dehumanizing immigrants has been a part of many scripts during elections,” she says in a GW Media Relations article. “In terms of mental health impact, any form of dehumanization contributes to a sense of a hostile receiving environment.”

Recently, Donald Trump spoke at a rally on Friday in the traditionally loyal Democratic state of Colorado. During his speech, Donald Trump continued to spread false, misleading information as well as dehumanizing language about migrants, saying that they were causing chaos in smaller cities of America.

“The Republican nominee has long promised to stage the largest deportation operation in U.S. history and has made immigration core to his political persona since launching his first campaign in 2015.” Statehouse Reporter Jesse Bedayn in an article for The Associated Press. “In recent months, Trump has pinpointed specific smaller communities that have seen large arrivals of migrants, with tensions flaring locally over resources and some longtime residents expressing distrust about sudden demographic changes.”

Donald Trump also insisted that migrants should be given the death penalty for any murder committed against an American citizen. Donald Trump’s rhetoric about migrants has become increasingly darker since the debate. He’s falsely accused migrants of committing crimes and causing harm to American citizens.

“On the trail, Trump has highlighted a specific Venezuelan prison gang, Tren de Aragua, known as TDA, after a social media clip went viral last month claiming that the gang had taken over an apartment complex in Aurora.” Senior Capitol Hill correspondent Garrett Haake stated in an NBC News article. “Police at the time said there was no evidence the gang had taken over the complex, and Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, a Republican, called Trump’s descriptions “not accurate.”