Ruling paves the way for deportation of Haitians from Ohio, nation
The Trump Administration can remove the protections that have allowed thousands of Haitian and Syrian immigrants to remain in the country, including thousands in Ohio, following a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court.
In a 6-3 ruling in Mullin v. Doe, the nation’s highest court overturned lower court rulings that delayed the termination of Temporary Protected Status for more than 6,000 Syrians and 350,000 Haitians. The challenge arose after the Department of Homeland Security said it would end TPS.
According to the ruling, the law that Congress passed bars judicial review of TPS termination decisions. That includes constitutional claims.
Republican Gov. Mike DeWine lamented the ruling, saying “changing the immigration status of these individuals is not in the best interest of the United States nor Ohio.”
“Today’s decision is a legal decision,” DeWine said in a statement. “As I have stated in the past, the policy to remove these individuals from this country is a mistake.”
The governor said that as a result of today’s ruling, more than 10,000 Haitians living in Ohio, mainly in the Springfield area, “will be subject to immediate deportation.”
“This also means that while these Haitians were working and contributing to our community and economy yesterday, today it is now illegal to employ them,” the governor said.
According to Thursday’s ruling, Congress created TPS in 1990 as a short-term humanitarian relief program for people who cannot safely return to their home countries due to events such as armed conflict or natural disasters.
“It was never intended to be a pathway to permanent status or legal residency and it is committed to the discretion of the Secretary of Homeland Security,” Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, told CBS News. “The Trump Administration continues to lawfully end the egregious abuses to our immigration system that have hurt Americans for years.”
According to NBC News, there are roughly 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians with TPS in the country.
“The situation in Haiti could hardly be much worse,” DeWine said. “The violent gangs run most of the country. The government barely functions. And, the economy is in shambles.
“Further, our federal government has an advisory against traveling to Haiti, and our Federal Aviation Administration prohibits U.S. carriers from flying there because of the danger to planes of being shot at by the gangs,” the governor added. “But, more importantly, changing the immigration status of these individuals is not in the best interest of the United States nor Ohio.”
