We’ve seen this xenophobic rodeo before.

The blood libel accused Jews of using the blood of Christians in religious rituals, especially in the preparation of Passover bread.

On Aug. 27, approximately an hour and 10 minutes into a city commission meeting in Springfield, Ohio, local resident Anthony Harris, a self-proclaimed “social media influencer,” asserted as a fact without evidence, “[The Haitian migrants] are in the park, grabbing up ducks by the neck and cutting their heads off and eating them.” The first question that comes to mind in the digital age is, “Where’s the video or photo?” Further, Mr. Harris did not say that Haitians were present in the United States illegally. Most Haitians are black. Would Mr. Harris have commanded even a crumb of credibility if he had accused Danish immigrants of killing and eating ducks?

On Sept. 5, a Facebook post by Erika Lee, a member of a Springfield, Ohio, residents’ group, appeared on X, in which she said without evidence:

“Warning to all about our beloved pets & those around us!! My neighbor informed me that his daughter’s friend lost her cat… One day she came home from work, as soon as she stepped out of her car, looked towards a neighbors house, where Haitians live, & saw her cat hanging from a branch, like you’d do a deer for butchering, & they were carving it up to eat…” She added that it was also happening to dogs, ducks and geese.

Lee has since expressed regret and told NBC News the situation “exploded into something I didn’t mean to happen.”

Springfield is a town in Ohio with a population of about 58,000. Since the election of President Joe Biden, approximately 15,000 legal Haitian migrants have come to reside there. No evidence has surfaced that the migrants have spiked the crime or unemployment rate, overwhelmed public schools, are disproportionately on the public dole, are draining Springfield’s coffers or have cast even one illegal vote.

Then came the Kamala Harris-Donald Trump debate. It would be superfluous to repeat the “eating dogs and cats” falsehood of candidate Trump. It has sparked numerous memes on social media.

The xenophobia found further expression in maligning Haitians as savages, penurious and practitioners of voodoo, featuring the consumption of ducks and cats as illustrative of their barbarism.

The deceit continued to mount online. One photo was an image of an Ohio Division of Wildlife employee transporting two dead geese down the street after their killing in a car accident. As to a hammer everything looks like a nail, to racist xenophobes all evil looks like an illegal Haitian immigrant.

Republicans, including Trump, have been disseminating AI-generated images depicting him rescuing cats and ducks, as well as anthropomorphic cats and ducks displaying Trump-Vance signs. What’s next? Allegations of cannibalism?

Illegal immigration is a problem. It is not new. It has endured for more than 50 years. There are no simple answers. Most migrants flock to the United States to work and escape from gang murders or rape. American business welcomes their industry and willingness to work for spartan wages. But it is obtuse to permit migrants who violate the law to jump the queue ahead of migrants who follow the rules and wait year after year for an immigrant visa.

Finding an Aristotelian means between too-exacting and too-lax immigration laws and enforcement is elusive. But that goal is hampered by blood libel-type epithets coursing through social media without vetting. AI mixed with proliferating Laura Loomer lunacies will aggravate the problem described in a quote often attributed to Mark Twain more than a century ago: “A lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth can get its boots on.”

Armstrong Williams (www.armstrongwilliams.com; @arightside) is a political analyst, syndicated columnist and owner of the broadcasting company, Howard Stirk Holdings. He is also part owner of The Baltimore Sun.