FWorking in a small office behind a Haitian grocery store on South Limestone Street in Springfield, Margery Coveleski helps local Haitians overcome bureaucratic red tape and make a living in Ohio City. We’ve been helping people make it a little easier for years.
But Koveleski, whose family is Haitian, recently noticed a big change.
Haitians are now coming to her trying to figure out how to leave the country.
“There are people who don’t have a credit card or access to the internet, but they want to buy a bus ticket or a plane ticket, so we help them book their flights,” she recently told the Guardian. told. “People are leaving.”
Coveleski and other leaders of the Haitian community in Springfield, a population of 60,000, have feared roundups and deportations in recent days following Donald Trump’s victory in the Nov. 5 presidential election. reports that Haitians are being evacuated from the city.
“One store owner is not sure if he should go back to New York or go back to Chicago. He says business is really bad,” Koveleski said.
President Trump repeals Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for immigrants, a provision that allows many Haitians to legally live and work in the United States, and deports Haitians from Springfield once he takes office. Then he says it repeatedly.
For many, the threat is real.
In September, the sheriff of Sidney, a town 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Springfield that is home to dozens of Haitian immigrants, reportedly directed local police to “grab these people and arrest them.” Ru.
“Bring them in and we’ll find out if they’re legal,” he said, referring to Haitian immigrants living in the area.
“It’s a big deal,” said Jacob Payen, co-founder of the Haitian Community Alliance, whose businesses include helping Haitians prepare their tax returns in Springfield. They fear mass deportation.
“Some of my clients have left. One guy went to New Jersey with his family. Some went to Boston. I know of three families who went to Canada.”
It is believed that some of them may have moved to nearby cities such as Dayton, believing that they would be less likely to be noticed by the police. Others who were temporarily exiled in Brazil are mulling returning to the South American country, regional leaders say.
Springfield’s Haitian community has been in the spotlight since President Trump falsely accused immigrants here of eating pets during September’s presidential debate. Since then, the city has seen fake bomb threats and marches by neo-Nazi groups that have seen a resurgence in recent years, largely due to the packaging of local produce, which was previously considered undesirable by many. This is because Haitians have found employment in factories and processing plants.
When these people leave, that money is lost from the city and local economy.
Jacob Payen, Co-Founder of the Haitian Community Alliance
Unofficial presidential election results show Trump defeated Harris in Springfield by less than 150 votes, despite making false claims about immigrants in Ohio, a cornerstone of his anti-immigrant campaign. Broke it.
The TPS program, a policy dating back to 1990, currently allows more than 800,000 immigrants fleeing conflict and humanitarian emergencies in 16 countries to legally live and work in the United States for a limited time. . Approximately 300,000 Haitians fleeing widespread violence in the Caribbean country will be allowed to remain in the United States through TPS until at least February 3, 2026.
But while it once attracted support from both sides of the political spectrum, President Trump’s first term saw a California court rule in 2020 that the Trump administration could end TPS for citizens of Haiti and three other countries. did.
TPS is granted by the Secretary of Homeland Security and is frequently renewed. On Tuesday, reports surfaced that President Trump had chosen to hand over the post to Kristi Noem, the governor of South Dakota, who has deployed the National Guard to the U.S.-Mexico border several times in recent years.
Trump’s deportation threat comes as Haiti faces renewed violence from politically connected gangs. The country’s main airport in Port-au-Prince has been regularly shut down and closed again on Tuesday after gunfire hit a commercial airliner arriving from the United States. This is the second time since October that an aircraft has been hit by gunfire over Haiti.
While President Trump may ultimately succeed in ending TPS for some immigrants, some legal experts believe that early in his administration, after the president’s second term begins on January 20, I think it is unlikely that that will happen.
“There is concern among the Haitian community that TPS will end on January 20th, but for a variety of reasons, that possibility is unlikely,” said Katie Kirsch, senior attorney at the nonprofit law firm Advocates. I think it’s low.” For basic legal equality.
“The strain that deportation efforts will place on an already stretched immigration court system will be significant.”
Kirsch said that even if the program ends, current law allows for a court hearing that could take months or even years. Similarly, immigrants who have filed asylum claims have the opportunity to have their claims heard.
By ending TPS, President Trump could actually make the illegal immigration problem worse.
“Because TPS provides employment authorization and the right to reside in the United States, once the TPS subsidy ends, those who hold it will immediately lose their employment authorization unless they have another qualification that grants it. ” said Ahiran Aruranantham of the UCLA School of Law. He was one of several lawyers who successfully challenged President Trump’s attempt to end TPS for Haitians and others in 2018.
“That impact occurs whether or not they later face deportation.”
The strain on an immigration court system where deportation efforts are already stretched will be significant.
Katie Kirsch, Senior Attorney
President Trump’s comments could be harmful to businesses in Springfield and nearby areas that rely on Haitian labor. Haitians have taken on thousands of jobs in local packaging and auto factories, helping to revitalize once blighted areas and contributing to the local economy in many ways.
While much of the food on the shelves of Springfield’s Caribbean stores is imported, many items are American-made, such as bread from Florida and pinto beans from Nebraska. The chicken, beef, and eggs served at the Haitian restaurant are regularly sourced from local farms.
A Haitian community group recently purchased a former fire station and hopes to turn it into facilities such as English classes, driver training, and a meeting place.
“I pay thousands of dollars in income and property taxes every year,” Payen said. When these people leave, that money disappears from the city and local economy. ”
Oddly enough, some Haitians, who don’t have the right to vote unless they’re citizens, are the ones who voted for Bill and Hillary Clinton after the devastating 2010 earthquake killed around 250,000 people and displaced many more. Some people are accusing prominent Democrats, such as Trump, of destroying the country. Another million.
Their Clinton Foundation operated dozens of projects around the country and helped raise billions of dollars to support recovery efforts. But while many Haitians believe the funds were siphoned off, the Clintons deny that.
Coveleski said a significant number of American-made guns have been trafficked into Haiti in recent years, a fact that some in the Springfield community have not forgotten.
“They don’t trust the Democratic Party at all,” she says. “Some people believe that if Donald Trump says, ‘Leave Haiti alone,’ he will leave us alone.”
