John Legend addressed Donald Trump’s comments about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, his hometown, on Thursday.
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| John Legend Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images |
During Tuesday’s presidential debate, Trump claimed that Haitian immigrants were “taking over” Springfield, stating, “They’re eating the dogs, they’re eating the cats, they’re eating the pets of the people who live there.”
In response, Legend shared a video on social media reminding his fans that he grew up in Springfield. “You may have heard about Springfield, Ohio, this week,” said the “All of Me” singer. “If you watched the debate, our city was mentioned by presidential candidates, including a very, shall we say, interesting man named Donald J. Trump.”
Legend took several minutes to talk about Springfield’s history. “Our city had been in decline for decades,” he explained. “We didn’t have enough jobs, and the opportunities were scarce. People started leaving. When I was young, the population was around 75,000, but in the past few years, it dropped to about 60,000. However, during the Biden administration, more job opportunities became available—more manufacturing jobs, more factories needing workers.
But with only 60,000 residents, we didn’t have enough people to fill those jobs. Around the same time, Haiti was going through unrest, and the federal government allowed a certain number of Haitian immigrants to come to the U.S. legally.”
The singer mentioned that Springfield's population grew by around “15,000 immigrants,” bringing the total to 75,000. “For a city that had only 60,000 residents before, that’s a 25 percent increase,” he noted. “That’s quite a lot.”
He acknowledged the difficulties that came with such a change. “Of course, integrating a new population comes with challenges—a new language, a new culture, new dietary habits. There are plenty of reasons why this adjustment might have been tough for Springfield, from needing more bilingual services to ensuring the community can support a larger population.”
Nevertheless, Legend emphasized: “The key point is these people came to Springfield because there were jobs available. They were willing to work, and they wanted a chance at the American Dream.”
He compared the situation in Springfield to the stories of other immigrant groups: “Think about your German ancestors, Irish ancestors, Italian ancestors, Jewish ancestors, Jamaican ancestors, Polish ancestors—all of them came here, maybe not speaking the language or eating the same food, but they came here for the opportunity.”
Legend continued, “All these people came to America for a better life for themselves and their families, and they worked to achieve that dream.”
He also addressed the importance of welcoming immigrants into all communities. “Let’s remember some facts about immigrants,” he said. “They tend to succeed here. They’re hardworking, ambitious, and they commit fewer crimes than native-born Americans. Over time, they will assimilate, but it requires patience. We should offer them the same understanding that we would want our ancestors to have received.”
He firmly added, “No one’s eating cats or dogs. We all want to live, prosper, and raise our families in a safe, healthy environment. So why not show love to one another?”
Legend concluded by asking his fans to reflect: “I was raised in the Christian tradition, where we are taught to love our neighbors as ourselves and to treat strangers as though they were Christ. Why don’t we apply that belief to how we talk about immigrants, and stop spreading hateful, xenophobic, and racist lies about them?”
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