ICE summons Haitian immigrants in Ohio for in-person check-ins

Hundreds of Haitian immigrants in Springfield and other parts of Ohio were called in for in-person ICE check-ins after federal officials moved to end their Temporary Protected Status, and some came away fitted with ankle monitors. The shift hit Haitian families in Cincinnati, Blue Ash and Springfield after the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to end the protections that had let many remain in the country legally.

Letters and call-in notices sent in late July directed some residents to report to Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Homeland Security offices. In Springfield, advocates said people who showed up for the appointments were told they could be deported on the spot or required to wear a monitor until a deportation hearing. Others were placed under electronic monitoring immediately, turning a routine check-in into a custody-like encounter for families who had believed TPS had shielded them from removal.

Vilès Dorsainvil, executive director of a Springfield advocacy group, said the ankle bracelets were humiliating for parents and other residents who had tried to follow the rules. Local coverage described the mood in the Haitian community as anxious and shocked, with the check-ins carrying a new level of fear because they came after years of legal protection under TPS.

The enforcement push drew a strong reaction in Ohio. At ICE meetings in Cincinnati, hundreds of people came out to show support for Haitian residents, and Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, criticized the president’s deportation plan. The backlash reflected how deeply the Haitian community is rooted in the state, especially in Springfield, where about 15,000 Haitians live, and in central Ohio, where the Haitian population is about 30,000.

The change in treatment also carries national implications. The Migration Policy Institute says nearly 731,000 Haitian immigrants lived in the United States in 2022, a reminder that Ohio’s check-ins are part of a much broader federal shift affecting Haitian families across the country. In Ohio, that shift has already moved from courtroom rulings to ICE offices, where a summons that once may have meant a status review now can end with an ankle monitor.