‘You Can’t Stay Here’: DHS Responds to Increased ICE Presence in Springfield, Ohio to Remove Haitian Migrants

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is ramping up its activities in Springfield, Ohio, following a major victory for President Donald Trump at the Supreme Court in June that allowed the administration to end Temporary Protected Status for Haitians, among other nationalities.

Springfield’s sizable Haitian community, many members of which are believed to have received TPS, has been in the headlines for two years as the Trump administration has fought to end TPS for Haitian migrants. While a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told the Daily Signal that, “every day, DHS is conducting law enforcement activities across the country to keep Americans safe. DHS does not discuss ongoing or future operations,” The Ohio Capital Journal has chronicled the increased ICE presence in Springfield.

The Ohio Capital Journal report claimed that, by the end of last week, more than two dozen Haitians had been detained by immigration enforcement officers.

Mayor Rob Rue also acknowledged the increased presence of federal law enforcement in Springfield and tried to create distance between federal and local law enforcement.

“The City is aware of federal immigration enforcement activity occurring in Springfield, including arrests made by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” the mayor said in a statement included in the Ohio Capital Journal report. “The City does not direct or control ICE enforcement activity. We are focused on the safety and well-being of everyone in our community,” Rue said.

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

DHS has routinely reminded those whose status is coming to an end that they have the option to self-deport and that the department is willing to help. “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,” the DHS spokesperson also said.

Republican Gov. Mike DeWine has expressed concerns about the end of TPS, but other Ohio Republicans, including Sen. Bernie Moreno, have supported the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts in Ohio.