ICE activity in Springfield continues netting Haitian arrests | Local

Springfield ICE activity

Reports of increased Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in Springfield are continuing into this week with additional arrests.

Video shot by local pastor Carl Ruby Monday, Aug. 17 shows several unmarked SUVs at a car wash near the Southern Village Shopping Center where witnesses say a person was arrested. In the video, a man in a police vest identifies himself as being with ICE.

People in the area report seeing increased suspected ICE activity around the shopping center in recent days. The strip mall includes several Haitian businesses, including a restaurant and grocery store. A Haitian resident speaking to a News-Sun reporter pointed out a vehicle waiting at a nearby gas station she said looked like one she saw pull someone over before.

“I’m stressed out,” she said.

Clark County Sheriff Chris Clark told this news outlet that his office communicated with ICE officials on Thursday about local operations. The Clark County Sheriff’s Office has not been asked to assist with any local immigration enforcement operations as of Monday, Clark said.

A spokesperson for the city of Springfield did not return a request for comment about whether the Springfield Police Division has been contacted by ICE or asked for assistance with local operations.

The Springfield News-Sun has found a growing number of inmates at the Butler County Jail — the nearest ICE detention facility — with Haiti as the listed birth country. As for Monday morning, the jail had 17 people under ICE detention with Haiti as their listed birth country.

Mugshots for four people booked into Butler County Jail on ICE holds on Friday show people who were detained in their work uniforms.

Two women booked in on Friday were wearing Emergent Hiring sweatshirts. Emergent Hiring is a staffing agency with an office in Beavercreek. Another two people were wearing uniforms with logos from F&P America, which has a Troy factory. Representatives from both companies declined to comment for this story.

Department of Homeland Security officials on Friday said they don’t discuss ongoing or future operations, when asked about reports of increased ICE activity in Springfield.

“Every day, DHS is conducting law enforcement activities across the country to keep Americans safe,” the agency’s statement says.

Springfield is home to an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 Haitians, an unknown number of whom became vulnerable to detention and deportation following the official revocation of Temporary Protected Status for Haiti earlier this month.

SPRINGFIELD NEWS-SUN COVERAGE

Community impacted by end of TPS for Haitians

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the Trump administration and gave the federal government the green light to remove legal protections for more than 330,000 Haitian immigrants who reside in the United States, which includes an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 people who live in the Springfield area.

Here are some highlights of community perspectives and our reporting on this issue.

“Temporary Protected Status is exactly that — temporary. For too long, TPS has been allowed to function as a de facto amnesty program despite Congress never intending it to be permanent,” the statement from DHS says.

“What we would say now is it’s closing time which means you don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here. The good news is it’s not too late to get a $2,600 check and a free flight home.”