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Immigration and Customs Enforcement has detained nearly 75 Haitians across Ohio since the end of Temporary Protected Status on July 27, with at least five from Springfield deported to Haiti, according to the Ohio Capital Journal. Theresa Hice-Fromille, a board member of the Haitian Community Help and Support Center in Springfield, confirmed the detentions and said agents have targeted people in shopping plazas, apartment complexes and at a car wash. Many others have received letters requiring them to report for ankle monitors at ICE offices in Blue Ash or Westerville. The measures have instilled widespread fear, with residents avoiding medical appointments, keeping children home from school and reducing church attendance from about 50 regular Haitian worshippers to just two at one local congregation.
Pastor Carl Ruby of Central Christian Church told the Ohio Capital Journal that a 20-year-old Haitian college student died by suicide after being fitted with an ankle monitor, an event that shook the community. “His death shook our Haitian community to its core,” Ruby said. Two Haitian pastors have also been detained in recent weeks, according to activists cited by the Presbyterian News Service. The developments follow the Supreme Court ruling in June that allowed the Trump administration to end TPS for approximately 350,000 Haitians nationwide, a move that took effect last month after earlier extensions tied to violence and instability in Haiti.
Haitian migrants began arriving in significant numbers around 2019, drawn by manufacturing jobs and affordable housing in the Rust Belt city, where the population had fallen from more than 81,000 in 1970 to about 60,000 by 2010, according to U.S. Census Bureau data reported by realtor.com. Estimates place the Haitian community in Clark County at between 12,000 and 15,000, many arriving under TPS after the 2010 earthquake and subsequent political unrest including the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise, Reuters reported. They filled roles in factories, warehouses and service industries, helping reverse a long-term economic slide that had left high vacancy rates and shrinking tax bases.
The influx contributed to measurable growth, with Springfield’s gross domestic product rising from $4.7 million in 2020 to $5.9 million in 2023, according to U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis data cited by The Haitian Times. Income tax revenue increased by more than $9.2 million between 2021 and 2022, while the unemployment rate dropped from 6.1 percent in early 2020 to 3.9 percent by late 2023, the same outlet reported. Local officials estimated that Haitian residents added more than 10,000 workers to the county, generating roughly $300 million in annual spending that could lead to more than $400 million in total economic losses if removed, according to statements from Springfield Mayor Rob Rue and Pastor Ruby carried by multiple outlets including the Ohio Capital Journal.
Springfield gained national attention during the 2024 election after then-candidate Trump and running mate JD Vance amplified false claims that Haitian migrants were eating pets, remarks Trump echoed at a Youngstown rally earlier this month when he said the town was “getting their town back,” according to the BBC. Some residents had raised concerns about strains on housing, schools and traffic, yet city data showed overall vacancy rates fell only modestly and rents rose at rates below the national average during the peak immigration period, a Reuters analysis of Zillow and other figures found. The current enforcement has already prompted some businesses catering to the Haitian community to close or see sharp drops in customers, with one money transfer service reporting its Haitian clientele falling from 80-90 percent to about 60 percent, The Guardian reported.
Ruby described the Haitian community as integral rather than burdensome. “Springfield’s Haitian community are not a burden. They are a blessing,” he said. He added that ending TPS “has made Springfield more vulnerable economically, socially, and spiritually. Springfield cannot afford to lose them, and morally, we should not be willing to.” The city has stated it does not control ICE operations but remains focused on resident safety, according to Mayor Rue’s comments in the Review Times. Deportation flights to Haiti have increased to weekly, landing in Cap-Haitien due to insecurity in Port-au-Prince, a Human Rights Watch report noted in coverage by the Ohio Capital Journal.
