The sole Haitian American in Congress speaks out

Sep 17, 2024

What up, Recast fam. On today’s agenda:

Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick on the GOP’s claim that Haitian immigrants are eating ... pets.
Kamala Harris will sit down with the National Association of Black Journalists today.
Donald Trump’s no longer interested in “unity” after this latest assassination attempt.

Photo illustration shows torn-paper edge on photo of Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick standing at a campaign event.

Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, the only Haitian American Democrat in Congress, says the recent rhetoric about Haitian migrants is "blowing the dog whistle for white superiority." | POLITICO illustration/Photo by AP

Freshman Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) has found herself thrust into the spotlight in the days since the Republican presidential ticket started fanning some unexpected and unsubstantiated claims: that Haitian migrants in the Midwest are stealing and eating their neighbors' pets.

Former President Donald Trump’s messaging shift on immigration is notable. He’s gone from railing against “illegal” migrants and building walls to focusing on the “legal” ones settled in the unassuming town of Springfield, Ohio — though he insists, falsely, that they are in the country unlawfully. Running mate JD Vance told CNN’s Dana Bash: “If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do.”

That’s compelled Cherfilus-McCormick, the only Haitian American serving in Congress, to speak out against the attacks, which have morphed from verbal claims to actual bomb threats that have caused schools and festivals in the area to close down and Ohio’s Republican governor, Mike DeWine, to station state troopers throughout Springfield’s school district.

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Meanwhile the former president is still doubling down, promising “mass deportations” of the Springfield-settled Haitians, who have Temporary Protected Status from the federal government. He also sent out a misleading email to supporters over the weekend with the subject line: “Kamala Harris' $1 Billion Giveaway To Illegal Haitian Migrants.”

We sat down with Cherfilus-McCormick, who said the past week has served as a rallying cry for Haitian Americans around the country. We discuss the root of this disturbing rhetoric, how it could impact the election — and Democrats' own mixed record on supporting Haitian asylum-seekers.

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This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

THE RECAST: What is your general reaction to what's taking place and the reason behind these attacks?

CHERFILUS-McCORMICK: I just see it as someone who is trying to lash out when they become desperate and that this is absolutely disgusting.

Making up stories that are totally false and fanning this narrative that there are illegals is, I think, the most egregious. These migrants are not illegal. They applied to come into the United States through the Biden humanitarian parole program. They applied while they were in Haiti, went through a lot of scrutiny, had to have a sponsor, they had to show that they had money in their bank account before they could enter the United States. They didn't illegally cross through a border.

These Haitian people trusted that they could go to Ohio and enter into a mutually beneficial relationship, where they can work, try to have a better life, and ... can also give back to the country that actually allowed them to come in. So I feel like it feels like a betrayal.

Man with praying hands walks back to pew inside church.

A parishioner walks back to his pew during a service in support of the Haitian community at St. Raphael Catholic church in Springfield, Ohio, on Sunday. | Luis Andres Henao/AP

But I also think it's important for us to talk about this fallacy, this narrative that Trump and Vance are trying to create … out of desperation, because he knows that he's getting close to losing the election.

THE RECAST: On Friday when the former president was speaking in California, he seemed to conflate Haitian migrants with the gangs of Venezuelans he said — falsely — are “taking over” Aurora, Colorado. He went on to say “it's like an invasion within.” How dangerous is this type of language?

CHERFILUS-McCORMICK: Well, I think it's extremely dangerous.

The language he's using is very intentional. When you talk about illegal aliens “invading” our communities and our way of life, when you have Donald Trump Jr. talking about Haitians are scientifically inferior, that we have low IQs and when you let people in from third-world countries … they're going to turn your country into a third-world country. That's blowing the dog whistle for white superiority.

So that's why you're seeing increased violence. That's why you're seeing the death threats. That's why you're seeing the KKK entering into the conversation, right? Because that campaign is speaking their language, talking about others being inferior.

THE RECAST: I would be remiss if I didn't bring up aspects of policy under the Biden administration. Back in 2021, there was controversy over how Border Patrol agents on horseback used force and inappropriate language to stop migrants crossing the Rio Grande outside of Del Rio, Texas.

Earlier this month, the Haitian Bridge Alliance issued a statement outraged over how the Biden-Harris administration deported some 40 Haitian nationals, primarily women, who were trying to seek asylum in the United States.

U.S. Border Patrol agents on horses in front of migrants.

Mounted U.S. Border Patrol agents attempt to contain migrants as they cross the Rio Grande from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, into Del Rio, Texas, Sept. 19, 2021. | Felix Marquez/AP

Do you feel like the Biden administration or Democrats overall are the best allies of the Haitian people, since they have their own mixed record on how they treat Haitians seeking asylum?

CHERFILUS-McCORMICK: I think that we have to look towards what the Biden administration has done. Understand there's no perfect mix, but what they've done is more than any other administration.

The Biden-Harris administration has created a legal pathway for Haitians who are escaping the political instability and the violence to get into the United States. And ... has extended the parole program where Haitians in Haiti can actually apply to get in here, into the United States.

I can tell you, as a Haitian American — my parents came from Haiti — nobody wanted to come to a country where you lose your history, you lose your identity, and come to a country that always demonizes you. ... So for this narrative to continue to be promoted by racists and bigots has to end.

THE RECAST: On Monday, the Congressional Black Caucus released an ad trying to woo Haitian voters, using this issue as a rallying cry. It is running in a New York swing district and has the tag line: “Our unity is our strength.”

How much do you think Trump’s comments are going to be a galvanizing force for Haitian voters, who can certainly make an impact on some congressional races and perhaps could help Democrats flip Florida, which half a million Haitian Americans call home?

Attendees react at a debate watch party.

Attendees react to the the Harris-Trump debate on Sept. 10 at a watch party organized by Democrats from the Haitian American community in Miami. | Rebecca Blackwell/AP

CHERFILUS-McCORMICK: You know that phrase hits us differently. As a Haitian person, we understand what they're saying: "L'Union fait la force" — which means our unity is our strength, which is on the Haitian flag.

Despite all the differences we may have, we must come together because we're under attack. So that saying and the positioning of it is absolutely true. We all have one common enemy right now, and that common enemy is JD Vance and Donald Trump.

For JD Vance to admit that he'll tell stories to bring attention to Ohio — and those stories will risk the lives of children, women and even [other] Ohioans — is absolutely, undeniably ridiculous and should not be tolerated.

I was on a call the other night with different Haitian people who once were even considering Trump, who are no longer. Because now, it's clear to them that the party itself will not not step up and defend Haitian people. ... So I think that what JD Vance said and what Trump did was actually a curse, but it also is a blessing.

HARRIS INTERVIEWS WITH NABJ

Kamala Harris speaks at a lectern on a stage.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaking at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Phoenix Awards Dinner on Saturday in Washington. | Mark Schiefelbein/AP

Vice President Kamala Harris returns to Philadelphia today, where she’ll be interviewed by a three-member panel assembled by the National Association of Black Journalists. (H/t to our Eugene Daniels, who will be one of the interviewers.)

It comes a week after her first — and possibly only — debate faceoff with Trump, who six weeks ago had his own sitdown with the Black journalist organization during its annual conference in Chicago. You remember that fateful event: The former president, during the opening moments of his interview, questioned Harris’ biracial identity and claimed (inaccurately) that she had “turned Black” only recently to attract voters.

The Harris interview will likely not be as contentious as Trump’s, where he also lashed out at ABC’s Rachel Scott, saying her question was “nasty” and phrased “in a hostile manner.” But the stakes are still high for the vice president, who has been criticized for not making herself available for many interviews. In the few she does accept, her skeptics pan her answers for lacking specificity.

An example: She was asked by an ABC affiliate in Philly last week for one or two specifics of how her policies would make life affordable for average Americans. She gave a nearly 3 1/2-minute answer that began with growing up in a neighborhood where people took pride in their lawns.

The pressure, too, will be on the three interviewers to press Harris on the details — like how she'll push her plans through the next Congress and which Republican lawmakers she believes she can partner with. The interview also comes as Harris’ support, though still strong among Black voters for now, lags behind the levels President Joe Biden attracted four years ago.