Fear, uncertainty remain for Springfield Haitians

Danae King and Dan Horn Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY NETWORK

SPRINGFIELD – Celebration of a federal court ruling blocking the Trump administration’s cancellation of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians was short-lived, and the fear is enduring – at least among residents here. ● The TPS designation – which was set to end on Feb. 3 – protects more than 350,000 Haitians living in the United States from deportation and allows them to legally work here. About 15,000 Haitians live in Springfield.

U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes for the District of Columbia issued a ruling on Feb. 2 postponing the Trump administration’s cancellation of TPS status for Haitians.

The decision was met with joy from some and a momentary sigh of relief from others, but continued panic and alarm from many in Springfield.

Despite the last-minute ruling, Haitians still fear ICE knocking at their doors, being separated from loved ones and being sent back to a nation the State Department has declared unsafe for Americans.

Before the ruling, local advocates were advising the 15,000 Haitians living in Springfield under the TPS designation – which allows them to legally work in the U.S. and avoid deportation while their own country is unsafe and in political and economic turmoil – to stay inside their homes. Community advocates and faith leaders had prepared churches as places to host those fearing arrest, detention and deportation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials; given instant meals to those hiding in darkened homes; and helped 250 get pass-

“The work we do here is relief. What is the care people need while this goes on and on and on?”

Casey Rollins

Executive director of the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Springfield

ports for their U.S.-born children.

The pause offers momentary relief, but Haitians should continue preparing for all scenarios, said Viles Dorsainvil, executive director of the Haitian Community Help and Support Center in Springfield.

“We cannot give ourselves the luxury of living as if everything is normal,” Dorsainvil said.

Uncertainty, fear of ICE prevail

How long TPS will last under the ruling and what will happen with the expected Trump administration’s appeal of the decision by a Biden-appointed U.S. District Court judge for the District of Columbia is unclear.

A Haitian man who sought help from the St. Vincent De Paul Society in Springfield on Feb. 3 after losing his job said he still fears ICE even though he is no longer dependent on TPS and now has a more permanent status called asylum. He asked to be identified only by his first name, Vilio, because of those fears.

“Everyone here is afraid of the ICE activities. You know the ICE process. Everyone is very afraid of them,” he said.

While Vilio was willing to risk going out in public, he lost his job because the man who drove him to work at an automotive upholstery factory an hour outside of Springfield is too afraid to leave his own home.

“A driver used to pick me up at home,” said Vilio, “But he has TPS.”

On the day TPS was initially set to expire, Vilio said he couldn’t go to work. When he lost his job, he turned to St. Vincent de Paul.

His wife and three youngest children still live in danger in Haiti, relying on money he sends back to them. But, if he went back to his nation, he believes he would be robbed and killed upon entry.

Though conditions are considered when TPS is terminated and the Trump administration has said it’s safe for Haitians to go back to their country, the situation in Haiti prompted the U.S. Department of State to label it with its highest-level travel advisory. The department warns American citizens not to travel there due to terrorism, kidnapping, crime, civil unrest and limited health care. Advocates have said broken infrastructure and widespread hunger plague Haiti as armed militias terrorize cities and towns.

“It’s not safe,” Vilio said of Haiti, clutching paperwork denoting his work authorization and status in a neon green notebook with “All my best ideas” emblazoned on the cover. “If I were to return, I wouldn’t be safe.”

Fear plagues Haitians with more permanent status, too

Fear of ICE is shared by Haitian immigrants no matter their immigration status.

“I’m a U.S. citizen, but I’m still scared,” said Velda St. Charles, who previously lived in Florida for years and moved to Springfield for better job opportunities. “They don’t have a preference. They’re just taking people.”

The 21-year-old Amazon employee said anxiety is gripping the entire Haitian community, even after the Feb. 2 judge’s ruling. She said she kept her daughter home from school on Feb. 2 due to concern about a surge of ICE agents in the city due to the end of TPS.

Almost everyone she knows fears the ruling is only a temporary reprieve, and St. Charles said they worry about what might come next.

She said she’s seen what’s happening in Minneapolis and worries similar scenes of violence could play out here if ICE comes to town.

“They’re killing American citizens,” St. Charles said. “What’s going to happen to me? I’m a Haitian. I look like a Haitian.”

Vilio said he’s struggling to cope with the uncertainty and the ICE activity he fears in the United States, and the prospect of having to return to Haiti.

“We cannot do anything,” he said. “The only thing we’re supposed to do is apply, just to have a paper in your hand. If one day you meet one of them, show it to them. That’s it. You don’t have the power to do anything.”

The fear is evident to others in the community who don’t fret about their own deportation.

Jeff Anderson is a Springfield barber whose clients include Haitian and Hispanic immigrants and has spoken with many of them who are worried, he said.

If ICE agents arrive in force, he said, any immigrant could get caught up in their net.

“Everybody talks about it,” Anderson said. “They carry all their forms of ID. Everything. It’s all unnecessary. It’s just stupid.”

The recent shooting deaths of American citizens by ICE in Minnesota make Anderson feel that no one is safe.

“They’re dangerous,” he said of ICE agents.

There’s more work to be done

There was still a lot of excitement about the judge’s ruling to block the Trump administration’s end to TPS on the afternoon of Feb. 3, said Kristin Monroe, a leader with G92, a coalition of faith leaders and advocates dedicated to helping Haitians in Springfield.

“I’m hearing a lot of resolve and hope,” she said, though she acknowledged the uncertainty and fear. “This is a short-term band-aid that has been extended and we want a long-term win.”

Either way, there is still work to be done, said Monroe and Casey Rollins, executive director of the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Springfield.

“We’re just focused on taking good care of people while they do what they feel safe doing,” Monroe said. “It feels like we live in a community that cares about one another.”

G92 is continuing to help people organize in Springfield and help Haitians feel supported, Monroe said.

While Rollins breathed a momentary sigh of relief the evening of Feb. 2, she was right back at work caring for the poor at St. Vincent de Paul the next morning.

Children trotted around the center, volunteers gathered food and toiletries for families, and others worked with individuals to help them find work or other resources.

Rollins was in the middle of it all, providing instructions, advice and warm greetings.

“The work we do here is relief,” Rollins said. “What is the care people need while this goes on and on and on?”

The answer varies, but what usually remains is a need for food, toiletries and a plan.

“They’ve been planning their lives, and this [judge’s decision] just gives them more time to continue to do so in case the time they had was too short,” said Dorsainvil.

Haley BeMiller and Bethany Bruner contributed to this reporting.

Underserved Communities Reporter Danae King can be reached at dking@dispatch.com or on X at @DanaeKing.