ICE begins immigration enforcement in Springfield after Haitian TPS protections end

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have begun making arrests in Springfield following the expiration of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing the Trump administration to end the protections.

Springfield Mayor Rob Rue acknowledged Wednesday that ICE agents are operating in the city and said federal officials informed his office they are conducting enforcement activities in Springfield, across Ohio and nationwide.

ICE also confirmed to WOSO that targeted enforcement activity will continue throughout Ohio.

Rue said the city does not direct or control federal immigration enforcement and said Springfield remains focused on providing city services while the operations continue. He also urged residents to treat one another with dignity and respect.

Springfield Police Chief Allison Elliott said city officers enforce state and local laws and are not participating in a federal immigration enforcement partnership.

“We also do not have a 287(g) agreement with ICE, nor are we pursuing one at this time,” Elliott said, according to WOSU.

The federal 287(g) program allows participating state and local law enforcement agencies to perform certain immigration enforcement functions under ICE supervision. Depending on the agreement, participating officers can identify and process removable illegal immigrants already in custody or exercise limited immigration enforcement authority during routine police activity.

The arrests come weeks after Springfield pastors warned that federal immigration enforcement could follow the expiration of TPS protections for Haitians.

As Ohio.News previously reported, Springfield pastor Carl Ruby, founder of the Haitian advocacy group G92, said local pastors met with ICE officials ahead of the expiration to discuss what could happen to Haitians who remained in Ohio without another legal status.

Ruby said ICE officials described a “carrot and stick approach” under which migrants could receive airfare and financial assistance to voluntarily leave the country while those who remain without legal status could face detention and deportation.

The Department of Homeland Security has offered eligible illegal immigrants a free flight and $2,600 to voluntarily leave the United States through the CBP Home application.

TPS allows the federal government to temporarily protect foreign nationals from deportation when war, natural disasters or other extraordinary conditions make returning to their home countries unsafe. Haiti originally received the designation following the country’s devastating 2010 earthquake.

The U.S. Supreme Court on June 25 reversed a lower court ruling blocking the Trump administration’s termination of TPS protections for Haitians, clearing the way for the administration’s policy to take effect.

Republican Gov. Mike DeWine has opposed ending the protections, arguing Haitian migrants have filled needed jobs in Springfield’s manufacturing facilities, restaurants and health care system.

Last month, before the latest enforcement activity, DeWine said federal officials had not informed his administration of a planned ICE operation in Springfield.

Other Republicans and Springfield residents have argued the federal government should enforce the expiration of a program intended to provide temporary protection rather than allow it to become a permanent immigration status.

Haitians who lost TPS protections can still remain in the United States if they have asylum claims or another valid immigration status. Those without another legal authorization can face arrest and deportation as federal immigration enforcement continues in Springfield and elsewhere in Ohio.