Fears grow among Springfield Haitian community as TPS expires

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (WSYX) — For many Haitian families in Springfield, uncertainty over immigration enforcement is beginning to impact daily life at a faster pace.

On Monday, the Haitian temporary protection status expired, meaning it is now illegal for Haitian immigrants who are not U.S. citizens to live and work in the country.

“The rumors were that ice would be coming into Springfield and so everyone’s just been laying low and planning around that,” explained Marjory Wentworth, the leader of Springfield G92.

Springfield G92 is a faith-driven coalition of churches and community members in Springfield who work to support and protect the local Haitian immigrant community.

The Haitian Support Center closed Monday out of what leaders called an abundance of caution. Staff members have spent the past several weeks helping clients pursue asylum claims and other legal immigration options.

“The only option the vast majority has … they left Haiti for a particular reason,” explained Viles Dorsainvil, Director of the Haitian Support Center. “Maybe they might be able to apply for asylum, but when it comes to adjusting their status to have a green card or a citizenship, it’s not an easy path. The Haitian community is faced with a catch-22 situation.”

Gov. Mike DeWine told reporters Monday the state has not been formally notified of any upcoming Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.

“The facts remain the same,” DeWine said. “Haiti is a horribly dangerous place. We tell our residents not to go to Haiti. The gangs run most of the country. It’s a dysfunctional country, and Haiti is more dangerous than ever. Sixty percent of the increase in population has come from immigrants in the last 10 years.”

The Department of Homeland Security told ABC 6 that ICE agents conduct enforcement operations every day but did not provide details about any activity in Springfield or elsewhere in Ohio.

Roughly a quarter of Springfield’s population is made up of Haitian immigrants. Thousands of Haitian immigrants moved to the city because of a low cost of living and available manufacturing and warehouse jobs.

ABC 6 reached out to Springfield Mayor Rob Rue and other city leaders about immigration enforcement this week. City officials responded that they are not conducting media interviews at this time.

At the same time, DHS is promoting a voluntary departure program that offers a free flight to Haiti and a $2,600 stipend for eligible participants.

The Department of Homeland Security quoted Semisonic’s Closing Time in a statement sent to ABC 6, saying in part, “It’s closing time which means you don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.”

But advocates say returning to Haiti is not a safe option and they do not know where else they could move.

“Nothing has changed in Haiti,” Wentworth said. “If anything, the situation is worse. It’s dangerous. The Port-au-Prince airport still isn’t open so nothing has changed.”

“The Haitian community has been here legally,” DeWine added. “You have to look at what the facts are. You have many of these people who have been here many, many years. Some people who have been here 20 years. They work. They have children here. They raised their family here. Some of the people who employ them are asking, ‘What good does it do to ship them out of the United States?’ Does that do our country any good? I think the answer is no. It does not do our country any good at all.”

Wentworth said she believes Haitian immigrants have long faced unequal treatment under U.S. immigration policy.

“Haitians have never been treated fairly in our immigration system,” she said. “In the (19)80s, for example, they were locked up in detention centers and Miami and Brooklyn.”

“In Springfield, most of those individuals are working in construction, manufacturing, and assembly,” DeWine said. “But if you look at nationwide, where are the immigrants who are working? Huge numbers are working in healthcare. And that’s going to be a real blow.”

Dorsainvil said migration is nothing new, but the conditions in Haiti leave many with few options.

“Migration is not a 21st-century thing,” Dorsainvil said. “It has been here for decades, for centuries. It’s not a question of patients not willing to go back home. It’s the question of the country is still not safe for them to go back.”

For many in Springfield’s Haitian community, unanswered questions about immigration enforcement continue to fuel fear and uncertainty.