Watch Ohio Governor Mike DeWine speak about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said in a press conference Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, that the influx of Haitian immigrants to Springfield, Ohio, is impacting health care for everyone in the area.
A federal judge on February 2 issued a last-minute stay order blocking President Donald Trump’s attempt to end Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of Haitian immigrants living in the United States.
The status, which allows about 350,000 Haitians to legally live and work in the United States, was scheduled to expire on February 3. This eligibility includes about 30,000 Haitians in central Ohio and another 15,000 in Springfield.
Judge Ana Reyes of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has issued a ruling delaying the effective date of the Trump administration’s revocation of TPS for Haitians.. The extension is the result of a lawsuit filed in the same court in July.
TPS status for Haitian immigrants was previously extended by a federal court from an expiration date of September 3, 2025, to February 3, 2025. This status may be granted to immigrants from countries with ongoing armed conflicts, environmental disasters, epidemics, or other unusual and temporary circumstances.
The Reyes decision said the termination of TPS was “null and void and of no legal effect” and did not affect the Haitian immigrants’ work permits. Those in TPS status are also protected from deportation detention during their judicial stay.
Haitians in Ohio, particularly those in Springfield, received national attention during the 2024 presidential campaign when President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance promoted false claims that Haitian immigrants living in Ohio were eating pets.
The expiration of TPS protections for Haitian immigrants had raised concerns about a surge in immigration enforcement in Springfield and surrounding areas.
Lynn Tramonte, executive director of the Ohio Immigration Alliance, praised the court’s decision but said temporary measures won’t solve the larger problem.
“This 11th-hour reprieve is certainly welcome, but people can’t live their lives like this with their families’ futures tied up in court,” Tramonte said. “Ohioans of Haitian descent have literally saved their own lives and the lives of their children over and over again. They’ve done the hard part. The least this country can do is honor their strength and contributions by giving them a permanent home. As evidenced today in Springfield, that’s what many in Ohio are advocating.”
On January 29, Reyes filed an entry in the lawsuit expressing frustration at not being given information before being forced to make a decision.
“Due to the delay (with varying degrees of culpability on both sides), the court is not entitled to the benefit of discovery before a judgment is rendered,” Reyes wrote. “It appears that the government is concerned about the speed of the courts, but the courts have indicated that they are concerned about the parties’ lack of it. In the future, if parties move quickly, the courts will move slowly.”
Reyes also took issue with the Trump administration’s filing of a nine-page motion that is no longer relevant to the case.
“The blame lies solely with the government itself, which wasted its time drafting an uncontroversial motion,” Reyes wrote.
Reporter Bethany Bruner can be reached at bbruner@dispatch.com.
