Federal immigration authorities are preparing to expand arrests and deportations of Haitian immigrants whose Temporary Protected Status is ending, according to federal documents cited by news organizations, with Ohio reported as an early focus of the operations.
The escalation follows a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June that allowed the Trump administration to end TPS protections for Haitians and Syrians while litigation continues. Truthout, republishing a Common Dreams report by Julia Conley, wrote that a binding mandate carrying out the decision was expected to be transmitted to lower courts on Monday, at which point roughly 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians could lose the ability to live and work legally in the United States.
According to Time, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is reportedly preparing to escalate operations to arrest and deport some of those affected, with expanded activity possibly beginning within the week. Time reported that the accounts came from CBS News and Fox News citing unnamed federal sources, and that Ohio, particularly Springfield, was described as a heavily targeted area.
Jean Négot Bonheur Delva, director-general of Haiti’s National Office of Migration, told the Haitian Times this month that, following a conversation with the U.S. embassy, Haiti should expect weekly deportation flights carrying about 250 former TPS beneficiaries.
In a statement to CBS News, the Department of Homeland Security said it “does not discuss ongoing or future operations.” The agency added, according to Time: “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.”
Ohio’s governor calls the policy a mistake
The plan has drawn objections that cross party lines, including from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican. Reacting to the Supreme Court decision, DeWine said in a June 25 statement that “the policy to remove these individuals from this country is a mistake.” He said that more than 10,000 Haitians living legally in Ohio, mostly in the Springfield area, would become subject to deportation and that it would become illegal to employ people who had been working the day before.
DeWine has repeatedly warned about the economic consequences for the Springfield region. He told the Statehouse News Bureau that employers describe Haitian workers as reliable, and he said the area could face “a lot of unfilled jobs” and added strain on social services if thousands of people lost the right to work at once.
In a later interview reported by the Springfield News-Sun, DeWine said ICE had indicated it was “not necessarily” going to target Springfield, and that federal removal orders would not apply to TPS holders while their status remained legal. He also described Haiti as “a total disaster,” and said that people would seek other countries rather than return.
Conditions in Haiti and the workforce at stake
TPS is granted to nationals of countries facing armed conflict, natural disaster, or other conditions that make return dangerous. According to Time, a January fact sheet from the advocacy group FWD.us estimated that about 200,000 Haitian TPS holders are in the U.S. workforce, including roughly 15,000 agricultural workers and 13,000 nursing assistants.
Truthout reported that Haiti remains gripped by gang violence and food insecurity, citing United Nations figures of more than 8,100 killings last year. Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, said that most Haitians with TPS entered the country lawfully and “have not spent a single day in violation of immigration law.”
Truthout also reported that Rep. Sylvia Garcia, a Texas Democrat, has filed a discharge petition to force a House vote on the American Dream and Promise Act, which would extend protections for TPS holders from Haiti and other countries, and that the effort had gathered 210 signatures, including two Republicans, as of last week.
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