Haitians in Ohio city live in fear and uncertainty amid court fight over protected status

Geoff Bennett:

The Trump administration's plan to end temporary protected status for Haitians in the U.S. was blocked yesterday by a federal court in Washington, D.C.

The program, which allows Haitians to live and work legally in the U.S., was set to expire today, a move that would have left roughly 350,000 people vulnerable to deportation. But the Trump administration plans to appeal.

And, as Stephanie Sy reports, that uncertainty has won Ohio city bracing as it fears becoming the next focus of immigration enforcement.

Woman:

Thank you. I have a right to remain silent.

Stephanie Sy:

Masked men confronting congregants while others record on their cell phones. A chaotic scene unfolds at a church in Springfield, Ohio, only, it's not real.

Woman:

Department of Homeland Security. Open up.

Stephanie Sy:

Community members are role-playing how an ICE raid might unfold. And they clearly plan to resist, armed with Scripture and knowledge of their constitutional rights.

Woman:

They are supposed to not be able to enter private spaces without a judicial warrant.

Carl Ruby, Senior Pastor, Central Christian Church:

I can't imagine what it would be like for me if I had to leave my country because I couldn't live here safely.

There is a lot of support for Springfield out there.

Stephanie Sy:

Senior Pastor Carl Ruby founded a network of churches in the area offering support to the city's Haitians and, in some cases, sanctuary.

Carl Ruby:

I would want people to stand with me. I would want people to protect me. So that's all that we're trying to do.

Stephanie Sy:

Nancy Flinchbaugh has called Springfield home for 30 years.

Nancy Flinchbaugh, Springfield, Ohio, Resident:

I'm here because I'm very concerned about what's going to happen to the immigrants in our community and to my town, because I think it's going to have a detrimental effect on all of us.

Stephanie Sy:

In recent years, Springfield has experienced a surge in Haitian migrants, most of whom came under the Department of Homeland Security's temporary protected status designation. TPS lets people from countries deemed temporarily unsafe due to war or natural disasters live and work in the U.S. legally.

The Trump administration has tried to terminate TPS status for 11 countries in his second term.

President Donald Trump:

In Springfield, they're eating the dogs, the people that came in. They're eating the cats.

Stephanie Sy:

And the president has had Springfield's Haitian population in his sights since the 2024 election, when the city became a political flash point and focus of misinformation.

If the Trump administration's decision not to renew TPS for Haiti is ultimately allowed by the Supreme Court, many of the city's roughly 15,000 Haitian residents will become subject to deportation orders.

Viles Dorsainvil, Haitian Support Center:

The USA that used to be seen as the beacon of the world is no longer that USA.

Stephanie Sy:

Viles Dorsainvil is originally from Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, and moved to Springfield in 2021. He runs the Haitian Support Center in Springfield.

Viles Dorsainvil:

I'm afraid of folks being detained for no reason. I'm afraid of seeing parents being separated from their kids.

Stephanie Sy:

Despite the Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's determination that Haiti no longer meets the criteria for TPS, the U.S. State Department has a do not travel for any reason advisory for the country due to kidnapping, crime, terrorism and unrest. And the FAA has a ban on commercial flights to its main airport in place at least until March.

Viles Dorsainvil:

I think that the American people who've been enjoying their country not having those type of problems that immigrants have would not understand what we are going through. If they were living in a condition where they feel insecure by armed hoodlums, if they were in a condition where they wouldn't be able to feed their kids, if they were in a condition where they were persecuted by their own government, wouldn't they try to get to somewhere safer?

Stephanie Sy:

A federal judge sided with that view yesterday. In a challenge to the Trump administration's move to end TPS, D.C. District Judge Ana Reyes wrote that the decision appeared driven by hostility to nonwhite immigrants, and she called the termination of TPS preordained and not based on the realities on the ground in Haiti.

The Trump administration is expected to file an immediate appeal. Ultimately, their fate could end up decided by the Supreme Court. But not everyone in Springfield would be upset to see Haitian migrants leave.

Laura Rosenberger, Executive Chairman, the Clark County, Ohio, Republican Party: There's definitely a resentment in Clark County, and that's the tension that this issue brought to town.

Oh, here's a good one.

Stephanie Sy:

Laura Rosenberger has lived in Springfield for three decades and is the executive chairman of the Clark County Republican Party. She says many in Springfield were taken off guard by the arrival of such a large number of Haitian immigrants.

Laura Rosenberger:

I think a lot of the people, the native people, feel like they were not asked. It was not put to a vote. The people had no voice. All of a sudden, this happened.

Stephanie Sy:

And she says the surge IN population led some Ohioans to feel pushed aside.

Laura Rosenberger:

There's a lot of competition for jobs. And when you bring in such a large amount of people, that increases the friction because people are fighting each other for jobs and resources. The wages that the Haitians will work for are much lower than what your typical American worker is going to work for.

Stephanie Sy:

But if these manufacturing companies lose their workers, might that lead to a greater shift away from areas like yours that have already lost so much of their industry?

Laura Rosenberger:

Well, we need our people to step up and apply for these jobs and the manufacturers need to hire them, even if it means hiring them for a little bit of a higher wage than what the Haitians would have worked for.

Melanie Wilt, Former Clark County, Ohio, Commissioner:

When you see the erosion of the economy over time, you can start to be kind of protectionist. And then you have a scarcity mind-set that is, well, if somebody else is getting this, then I'm not getting something.

Stephanie Sy:

Melanie Wilt is the former commissioner of Clark County, which includes Springfield. She admits the population surge was difficult to manage at first, but:

Melanie Wilt:

We have spent the last four or five years really adjusting to that, helping to assimilate the Haitian community, making them part of our work force. And they're an important part of this community now. So, if that were to change overnight with the expiration of TPS, our community would have to adjust.

Stephanie Sy:

Like many Industrial Midwest cities, Springfield lost jobs and residents for decades, a trend that began reversing in recent years partly due to Haitian immigrants.

Melanie Wilt:

One of the goals that we have had for a long time is to increase our population, because increased population strengthens the tax base. And we have seen that our immigrant neighbors really do spend their money in the community.

Stephanie Sy:

But with the end of TPS come a lot of unknowns.

What do you think should happen to these folks? I mean, it's called TPS because it's supposed to be temporary.

Melanie Wilt:

Well, I'm a conservative. I'm a Republican. And I believe that this country needs immigration reform, but I think we need to do it in a way that is respectful of human dignity. I think we need to do it in a way that is predictable.

Stephanie Sy:

Viles Dorsainvil says that uncertainty is weighing heavy on his community.

Viles Dorsainvil:

They are tired. When I say tired, I mean, they just not know what to do next. They're not accepted back home, and they're not accepting anywhere. They keep running from time to time and not being able to set up anywhere. So they are tired.

Stephanie Sy:

Tired, with no clear place to run to next.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Stephanie Sy.