IRacist conspiracy theories about immigrants have dominated the election cycle in recent weeks, with Republican leaders doubling down on unfounded rumors about Black and brown immigrants and capitalizing on fears that immigrants are to blame for rising crime in U.S. cities.
During last week’s presidential debate, Donald Trump repeated his unfounded claim that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are eating their pets. “In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people who come in. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people who live there,” the Republican candidate said.
Also, in response to a question about the rising cost of living, Trump noted rumors circulating that members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua were taking over apartments in Colorado: “You just look at Aurora, Colorado. They’re taking over towns. They’re taking over buildings. They’re violently invading.”
Both claims are completely false.
Experts say the spread of this misinformation fuels xenophobic beliefs ingrained in the American psyche as a means of political gain. “It’s incredibly dangerous when people with a platform are repeating these highly fabricated rumors,” said Gladys Ibarra, co-executive director of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition. “These are part of a larger coordinated strategy to continue to demonize our immigrant neighbors. This is undermining the values of our country and what people have claimed this country has historically stood for.”
Despite the push for fact-checking and accuracy since the 2016 presidential election, misinformation (inaccurate information spread unknowingly) and disinformation (false information intended to mislead) are widely shared through social media platforms. According to Jeffrey Lane Blevins, a journalism professor at the University of Cincinnati, the phenomenon of inaccurate news still occurs at alarming rates because people’s online algorithms are primarily driven by political bias.
“[The algorithms]are just designed to keep you interested,” Blevins said, referring to metrics like how long people look at content and whether they share it in their feed. “And what attracts most people’s attention? Something that infuriates them or upsets them.”
Blevins added that right-wing figures spread misinformation “to infuriate people on the political right,” especially during election years. This content is accepted as truth by people online who already share right-wing beliefs. “It creates a kind of echo chamber,” he said. “When prominent figures who share your political beliefs post this content, people are more likely to accept it at face value.”
Republicans at all levels of government have linked immigration to violent crime, including drug smuggling and assault. During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump claimed Mexicans crossing the southern U.S. border were “rapists” and that they were “bringing drugs and bringing crime.” He initiated construction of a wall along the border to stop big bags of drugs being dumped, along with other anti-immigrant policies. During this campaign, Trump has said illegal aliens are “animals that are poisoning the blood of our country,” even though immigrants are much less likely to commit crimes than U.S.-born citizens.
Demonizing immigrants is a recurring tactic used by lawmakers to secure votes, says Herman Cadenas, an associate professor at Rutgers University who specializes in the psychology of immigrants. “Immigration is not as divisive as some politicians make it out to be,” he says, because 64% of Americans believe immigrants are good for the country. “It’s a tactic that has been used historically to mobilize voters who feel threatened.”
According to Cadenas, for centuries, politicians have created policies based on the stereotype that immigrants are a “threat” to the identity and security of the United States. Anti-immigration laws such as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the Immigration Act of 1924 were among the first to restrict U.S. immigration based on national origin. The Chinese Exclusion Act was enacted primarily in response to labor union leaders warning that a “Chinese invasion” would take jobs away from white Americans. Similarly, before the passage of the Immigration Act of 1924, U.S. senators had advised other members to “close the door” to immigrants, arguing that the migrating population would “encroach on the reserves and untapped resources” of the United States.
Fast forward to the early 2000s, when states like Arizona passed laws allowing local police to target people they believed to be in the country without papers. Arizona Republicans used a political tactic to drum up support for the controversial bill, calling illegal immigrants an “invasion that must be stopped” and a “national security threat.”
Politicians also try to create voting blocs by passing anti-immigrant policies: “Historically, these stereotypes and falsehoods have been used to mobilize voters to elect policymakers who would enact anti-immigrant laws and policies.”
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Despite most Americans having positive views of immigrants, Cadenas said, “racism and xenophobia are deeply ingrained in our society and our psyche.” A study by Cadenas and Elizabeth Keene found that white U.S. adults are most susceptible to the core stereotype that Latino immigrants are a threat.
“Anti-immigrant rhetoric is less about persuasion and more about amplifying and reinforcing existing beliefs,” Cadenas said. “Unlearning these problematic beliefs and prejudices requires great effort.”
Misinformation about immigration has consequences, Cadenas and Ibarra said. “Across the country, many states have an ‘anti-immigrant climate,'” Cadenas said, meaning they pass laws that make life harder for immigrants.
“A small minority of people who feel threatened by immigrants are electing policymakers who create policies that are negative for immigrants,” he added. “These policies ripple through to housing. They ripple through to how officials at the local level treat immigrants. They ripple through to health care and how immigrants have access to health care and mental health.”
In Aurora, Venezuelan residents of the apartment complex said they felt uneasy after rumors of a gang takeover spread and feared being stereotyped as criminals.
Springfield has received more than 33 bomb threats since Trump spoke at the debate. City hall and local schools have been evacuated. Springfield hospitals are on alert, and Haitian immigrants say they have received multiple threats.
“Hard-working, contributing people in their communities are not a danger,” Ibarra said. “The danger is all of these violent ideologies that are fueled by people who are repeating these lies, who are repeating them on social media and on television.”
