Local Republicans reject Trump's claims about Haitian immigrants in their towns
Republicans in places like Springfield, Ohio, and Charleroi, Pa., say Haitian immigrants have provided a boost.
Camera Bartolotta knew she had to say something.
The Republican state senator in Pennsylvania caught wind that former President Donald Trump was targeting a small town in her district as part of his new focus on recent Haitian immigration to red America.
At a rally earlier this month, Trump mentioned that Charleroi, with a population of 4,000 people, had experienced a significant wave “of Haitian migrants under Vice President Kamala Harris” that was “costing local taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.” He claimed the town was now “virtually bankrupt” as immigrants brought “massive crime to the town and every place near it.”
Soon after, right-wing influencers began parachuting in, hoping to document evidence of immigrant malfeasance and uncover divisions in the town. Rumors of migrant workers being “bused in” quickly spread online.
So Bartolotta took to social media. On Facebook, she said the recent immigrants to her community were there “LEGALLY to WORK, and pay taxes, and raise their children, and be part of the community, etc.” On X, she pushed back against videos claiming to show migrants being bused in, imploring the right-wing Libs of TikTok account to “Please, check the facts before posting information [that] jeopardizes the safety of good, hard-working people.”
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