For now, they have jobs. Their kids are in school. They have access to health care and other services. They have put down roots.
“They don’t have any reason to leave now because they don’t have any other place to go in the USA where they will not be facing the same issue,” said Vilès Dorsainvil, president of the Haitian Community Help and Support Center.
Springfield and Clark County leaders have long estimated that the region is home to 12,000 to 15,000 Haitian immigrants.
The News-Sun used available data points to find:
• The number of Haitian-speaking Clark County residents on public assistance has dropped by thousands of people since last summer. Medicaid enrollment for Haitian-speaking applicants is down by more than a third, food stamps by 63% and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families usage by more than half from July 2024 through March 2025.
• Clark County Combined Health District leaders have seen a reduction in demand for service, but estimate the number of local Haitians still above 10,000.
• Springfield City Schools officials say overall district enrollment has remained around 7,400 this school year. Data provided by the district shows it has 1,258 students classified as English language learners this month, down about 6.6% from a high of 1,347 in February — but up from 1,193 in October 2024.
• Springfield’s federally-qualified health center, Rocking Horse, saw a small dip in its Haitian-Creole speaking patients in the last two weeks of January. But since then, attendance has stabilized, agency leaders say.
• Employers interviewed by the News-Sun say Haitian workers are not leaving their jobs.
The future for this vulnerable population is uncertain. Many have work permits and remain in the country legally under programs President Donald Trump tried to end as early as April 24. Some of those efforts are slowed by court action, but Springfield’s Haitian immigrants remain possibly months from being ripped of their legal status.
It’s unclear what will happen then. An ICE spokesperson did not return a request for comment about deportation procedures. The Trump administration wants them to return to Haiti.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
But Haiti has had severe poverty and political instability for years, intensified by a series of natural disasters. In 2021, Haiti’s president was assassinated. In 2023, the U.S. ordered all non-essential personnel to leave the country. In March 2024, a state of emergency was declared as violent gangs had taken over much of the country. Last fall, the largest airport was closed because gang members were firing at planes.
The U.S. State Department has had a “Do Not Travel” advisory on Haiti for more than six months, citing “kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and limited health care.” The most recent update last week said gunfire was reported near the U.S. Embassy.
So for now, thousands stay in Springfield.
Public assistance programs
Clark County Job and Family Services has reported a steady decrease in Haitian Creole-speaking residents seeking public assistance since an all-time high in July 2024, with nearly every category of assistance available to immigrants declining since last summer.
“It could mean they’re either leaving or no longer needing public assistance,” said Clark County JFS director Ginny Martycz. “But we have noticed a difference.”
County JFS departments administer Medicaid programs and other forms of public assistance, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. When someone applying for public assistance moves counties within Ohio, they appear in the caseloads of their new county JFS department.
| Month | Medicaid | Presumptive Eligibility - Medicaid | Refugee Cash Assistance | SNAP | SNAP Employment and Training | TANF | TANF Work Activities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul-24 | 7,961 | 84 | 1,896 | 4,363 | 427 | 1,475 | 146 |
| Aug-24 | 7,190 | 20 | 1,803 | 3,536 | 381 | 1,353 | 135 |
| Sep-24 | 6,992 | 14 | 1,737 | 3,280 | 388 | 1,250 | 152 |
| Oct-24 | 6,624 | 17 | 1,582 | 2,794 | 349 | 1,140 | 156 |
| Nov-24 | 6,003 | 19 | 1,478 | 2,438 | 279 | 1,110 | 191 |
| Dec-24 | 6,340 | 21 | 1,326 | 2,265 | 85 | 1,081 | 145 |
| Jan-25 | 5,965 | 15 | 1,095 | 1,941 | 46 | 1,031 | 149 |
| Feb-25 | 5,459 | 12 | 848 | 1,673 | 32 | 897 | 162 |
| Mar-25 | 5,260 | 20 | 720 | 1,597 | 25 | 711 | 179 |
Source: Clark County Department of Job and Family Services
Last summer, Clark County JFS had 4,363 Haitian Creole-speaking applicants in their caseload for the SNAP Program. At the end of March this year, the caseload for Haitian Creole-speaking applicants had shrunk by 63%.
The county’s Medicaid caseload saw a similar drop, with 5,260 cases linked to Creole-speaking applicants at the end of March, compared to 7,961 Medicaid applicants in July 2024. This is a 33% drop in the county’s caseload.
Some immigrants are also eligible for the Refugee Cash Assistance program. In Clark County, Haitian residents make up the vast majority of assistance distributed through this program. This program is for immigrants without children, and assistance is limited to 12 months after arrival in the U.S.
In July 2024, a total of 1,896 applicants were in Clark County’s caseload for this program, but at the end of March, only 720 cases were linked to Clark County.
Health district
For the Clark County Combined Health District, home visitors in Early Childhood programs like Help Me Grow have reported that numerous families are leaving or preparing for their departure, according to Clark County Health Commissioner Chris Cook.
“We are seeing a decrease in demand for our services at the health department, ranging from immunizations to refugee health screenings,” Cook said. “This doesn’t necessarily mean that people have left, but rather that they are laying low or are getting their care elsewhere.”
Cook previously estimated that 12,000 Haitians reside in Clark County; he believes that number has since decreased, but it likely hasn’t dipped below 10,000 residents.
Rocking Horse
According to Rocking Horse data, in 2024 the community health center served 15,600 patients. Roughly 3,600 of these were patients best served in a language other than English.
In the last quarter of 2024, the health center saw 208 new patients who speak Haitian-Creole. In the first quarter of 2025, the health center only saw 150 new patients. But new patient numbers were down in total in the first quarter this year.
“Rocking Horse still considers itself as the safety net provider and encourages people to continue engaging in their healthcare,” Rocking Horse CEO Dr. Yamimi Teegala said. “Our concern was never about losing patients. Our concern was more, ‘I don’t want anyone to go under the radar and just skip this visit.’ But people are engaging with essential services.”
Rocking Horse Chief Operating Officer Stacy Lee said that among adult patients, the health center sees about 10 new patients per week on average.
“We still continue to see a fairly large number. But we continue to monitor this,” she said.
Lee has been coordinating training for Rocking Horse staff over the past few months. The training walked employees through patient privacy and procedures around immigration enforcement.
She said several patients have called in concerns about receiving care under their current immigration statuses.
“We’re trying to continue to be the place for everyone and give quality care to everyone,” Lee said.
English language classes
Clark State College is one of 47 providers for Ohio’s Aspire program, which among other things provides English language courses for Haitian residents.
Timothy Armstrong, state director of the program that runs through the Ohio Department of Education, said Haitian learners from Clark County reported “apprehension” with on-site English classes last fall and again in January.
Aspire providers pivoted to other formats, such as synchronous learning where learners could tune into online classes from home. But many of those students have since returned to the classroom.
Non-native speakers, many of whom are Haitian residents, make up more than 90% of students in Clark State College’s Aspire program. Similarly, at Springfield City Schools, 65% of the students in Aspire courses are non-native speakers, according to Armstrong.
