The Haitian Equation: 20,000 = Too Many

The Haitian Equation: 20,000 = Too Many

Members of the media were quick to "debunk" President Trump's claim at Tuesday night's debate that Haitian migrants were eating people's cats, but as Douglass Mackey pointed out on X, those claims haven't been debunked:

Despite what the media is saying, the Haitian migrants eating cats in Ohio rumor has not been "debunked." The only thing "debunked" is that the police are claiming that no police reports have been filed. (To my knowledge, nobody has investigated to see whether or not the police are telling the truth. One could do so by filing open records requests.)

Earlier this year, a Haitian woman in FL was arrested for burning a cat alive in the backyard [...]

Given these stories and what we know about the practice of voodoo in Haiti, the idea that recent migrants in Ohio would capture and eat local pets (or ritually sacrifice them) seems far from debunked.

Trump's running mate J.D. Vance, who represents Ohio in the U.S. Senate, made a similar point. He also expanded it to note some proven negative consequences of Haitian migration: 

In the last several weeks, my office has received many inquiries from actual residents of Springfield who've said their neighbors' pets or local wildlife were abducted by Haitian migrants. It's possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false.

Do you know what's confirmed? That a child was murdered by a Haitian migrant who had no right to be here. That local health services have been overwhelmed. That communicable diseases--like TB and HIV--have been on the rise. That local schools have struggled to keep up with newcomers who don't know English. That rents have risen so fast that many Springfield families can't afford to put a roof over their head.

Vance reiterated this skillfully in response to a CNN anchor after the debate: 

Do Haitians Make Better Workers? 

That claim was made by a factory owner in Ohio, but it ignores the common unskilled immigrant trajectory.

And it raises the question of why the factory owner has hired so few Haitians, despite the influx of 20,000 nearby.

And it also ignores how the U.S. government subsidizes the hiring of foreigners, both directly via welfare programs and indirectly via NGOs. 

Any Selective Immigration Policy Would Exclude Most Haitians 

If you wanted to pick the worst possible country to get immigrants from, Haiti might be at the top of that list. In addition to their alien language and culture (including voodoo animal sacrifices), Haiti is estimated to have one of the lowest average IQ scores in the world. 

Bear in mind that an IQ score below 70 used to be considered mentally retarded.

If it sounds inconceivable to you that a whole country could be, on average, retarded, listen to the experience of someone who's been to Haiti. 

The American medical student mentioned in the thread above was Scott Alexander, who later became a psychiatrist and an extremely influential rationalist blogger. Not someone who came to Haiti with any prejudices or axes to grind, just a medical volunteer. 

America Does Not Have A Crucial Shortage Of Haitians 

There is no good reason for us to import Haitians by the tens of thousands. Any country is a reflection of the people who live there, and what the condition of Haiti says about Haitians is not good. 

Even the compassion argument falls flat here, as the only way to be compassionate to Haitian immigrants to be cruel to their American neighbors. 

The only reason to import Haitians is that as nonwhites and perennial dependents on government assistance, they will become reliable Democratic Party voters. 

If America can't say no to immigration from Haiti, and it can't say no to immigrants from anywhere. It's time to start saying no. 

 If This Post Makes You Feel Bearish 

You can read about the bearish trades we placed this week here. 

And you can hedge your long positions using our optimal hedging app. 

If you'd like to stay in touch 

You can scan for optimal hedges for individual securities, find our current top ten names, and create hedged portfolios on our website. You can also follow Portfolio Armor on X here, or become a free subscriber to our trading Substack using the link below (we're using that for our occasional emails now).