John Legend, who was born and raised in Springfield, asks residents to help Haitians assimilate: 'Nobody's eating cats'

Singer-songwriter John Legend posted a video calling on the residents of Springfield, Ohio, to accept the Haitian newcomers and reject negative stereotypes about them.

Legend was born and raised in Springfield and used his platform to talk directly to his 15.8 million followers on Instagram. He said he was spurred to action over accusations made by former President Donald Trump about the immigrants during a debate Tuesday.

'So I think all of us need to have the same kind of grace that we would want our ancestors to have when they moved here.'

"Springfield has had a large influx of Haitian immigrants who come to our city," said the singer. "Now, our city had been shrinking for decades. We didn't have enough jobs. We didn't have enough opportunity, so people left and went somewhere else."

He went on to say that the local economy had grown and there was a dearth of workers fulfilling the demand.

"And during the same time, there has been upheaval and turmoil in Haiti. The federal government granted visas and immigration status to a certain number of Haitian immigrants so they could come to our country legally," he continued.

"There are plenty of reasons why this might be a challenge for my hometown," the singer said. "But the bottom line is these people came to Springfield because there were jobs for them and they were willing to work."

He went on to compare the immigrants to others in U.S. history from Poland, Italy, Ireland, and Germany.

"They commit less crime than native-born Americans, and they will assimilate and integrate in time, but it takes time. So I think all of us need to have the same kind of grace that we would want our ancestors to have when they moved here with our Haitian brothers and sisters," he continued.

"Nobody's eating cats," he added. "Nobody's eating dogs."

He concluded by appealing to the Christian tradition to "love our neighbor as we love ourselves and treat strangers as though they might be Christ."

Local officials have denied the reports of Haitian immigrants eating pets and killing animals in broad daylight, but the claims have gone viral on social media and inspired countless memes and jokes. Others argue that regardless of the validity of the claims, the large, sudden influx of immigrants has strained social services and put a burden on residents.

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