Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) said on Sunday that the “the cats and dogs thing,” referring to baseless claims that Haitian immigrants are eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, has gotten “way more coverage than real-world impacts” of immigration.
He argued on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that there should be more attention placed on the effects that large numbers of migrants bring to small communities in the United States.
“There are literally people moving in by thousands in the case of Springfield. Charleroi in Pennsylvania, you know, that’s a 4,000-person city that has 2,500 migrants,” Rubio said.
“In Springfield, you see reports, these are legitimate reports of huge increases in traffic accidents leading to slower police response time, overcrowded schools. I mean the strain this puts on a community, and if you complain about it, somehow you’re a bigot, you’re a racist, you’re a hater.”
At the Sep. 10 presidential debate, former President Donald Trump made the debunked claim about immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, that “they’re eating the dogs — the people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating — they’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”
ABC moderator David Muir immediately responded, citing a statement from the Springfield city manager saying, “There have been no credible reports of specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.”