Haitian immigrants and leaders tell the Springfield News-Sun many of their friends and neighbors fled to surrounding communities as anti-immigrant rhetoric flared up over the past year-plus. But available data analyzed by this news outlet shows many have stayed in Springfield, and some new families have come into the community.
Springfield City School District saw at least 15 new immigrant families register for school since the beginning of January, Pam Shay, director of federal programs for the school district, said at a recent Haitian Coalition meeting. This includes Haitian and non-Haitian families. Some families have come from other states like Minnesota and Kentucky, Shay said.
Immigrant students make up anywhere from 5-40% of the population of an individual district building, Shay said.
Credit: David Sherman, Video Producer | Ismael David Mujahid, Reporter
About 20% of the district’s 1,400 students were admitted after 2021 and do not have documents indicating citizenship as of the end of December, Shay said.
Rocking Horse Community Health Center has seen a slight increase in the number of Haitian Creole speaking patients, said Nettie Carter-Smith, director of community relations during a recent Haitian Coalition meeting. One of the most sought out areas of care was obstetrics, she said, with 66 babies being born in December — 29 of whom had families who selected Haitian Creole as their preferred language.
More than 1,300 children have been born to Haitian immigrants in Springfield in the past few years, according to the Clark County Combined Health District.
Public assistance down
Public benefits data paint an incomplete picture of the Haitian immigrant population with federal government changes to Medicaid and other programs limiting eligibility. In July, President Donald Trump signed into law the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which includes changes to work requirements and increased frequency of Medicaid redetermination, which are checks to ensure an individual still qualifies for the program.
The number of people who selected a Haitian language as their preferred language that applied for Medicaid, refugee assistance and other associated programs decreased steadily from February 2024 to November 2025, the most recent month for which data was available from the Clark County Department of Job and Family Services. In February 2024, there were 6,478 Medicaid applicants, compared to 3,676 in November.
There were 1,714 Haitian Creole speaking refugee assistance applicants in February 2024 and 38 in November. This decrease could mean that the number of new arrivals has gone down, as people can only receive refugee assistance for their first 12 months in the country.
End of TPS
Temporary Protected Status was initially set to end Feb. 3, 2026 after the Biden administration extended it, but the Department of Homeland Security announced an official termination would happen Sept. 2, 2025, saying that conditions in Haiti had improved and its immigrants no longer meet the conditions for TPS.
A federal judge recently ruled that ending TPS was unlawful, blocking the program from ending early, but allowed TPS to expire after Tuesday, Feb. 3. Multiple lawsuits challenging that are ongoing.
Those who enjoyed legal protections under TPS will no longer have status after Tuesday unless they sought and received another form of protection, like asylum. Legal experts have continued to encourage Haitian immigrants to apply for asylum or other statuses under the guidance of a bar-certified attorney.
Aggressive immigration enforcement in Springfield once TPS ends for Haitians has been expected by some, particularly after a group of local advocates met with a representative from Ohio’s Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Husted’s office last year, who indicated as much. Advocates were encouraged to help people “self-deport” to a “third country.”
Legal experts, like those from Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, have expressed concerns that fears of this could lead to people self deporting and relinquishing their rights to advocate for their own immigration cases.
Following false rumors about Springfield’s Haitian residents during the 2024 presidential campaign, President Donald Trump specifically vowed aggressive immigration actions in Springfield. The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown has since been the focus of scrutiny over its methods, especially following recent fatal shootings involving ICE and Border Patrol officers in Minnesota.
BY THE NUMBERS
10,000-15,000: Estimated number of Haitian immigrants in Springfield area.
1,300: Number of children born to Haitian immigrants in Springfield in the past few years, according to the Clark County Combined Health District.
5-40%: Population of immigrant students in Springfield City School District buildings
3,676: Number of people who selected a Haitian language as their preferred language that applied for Medicaid in November, according to Clark County Job and Family Services. This is down from 6,478 in February 2024.
DIG INTO OUR HAITIAN COVERAGE
Clark County Sheriff’s Office to ‘maintain the peace’ as TPS ends, will not enforce immigration laws
WATCH: Haitian restaurant in Springfield struggles as federal protections near expiration
• What’s coming?: After some initially warned of an anticipated 30-day ICE surge following the end of TPS, school and state officials stressed they have had no direct communication with the feds about potential enforcement actions, but they are preparing for the possibility.
• A community in fear: Reporter Cornelius Frolik traveled the streets of Springfield with a translator and spoke to more than a dozen Haitian people living and working in the Springfield area. Most of them expressed feelings of uncertainty and dread about the TPS cancellation.
• Lawsuits: Area Haitians on TPS are pinning their hopes on a couple of lawsuits that challenge the legality of the federal government’s decision to cancel the TPS designation for Haiti. Here are the details on those lawsuits, including one involving a Springfield man.
• Keket: Our reporters sat down with a local restaurant owner concerned that immigration enforcement fears could close her business. Her compelling personal story is captured in writing and video here.
• Residents prepare: More than 80 people took part in an educational event at Zion Hill Baptist Church in Springfield Thursday evening, learning about their rights and those of their neighbors regardless of immigration status.
• Law enforcement: Local law enforcement officials say they will work to “maintain the peace” amid any ICE surge, but they won’t enforce federal immigration law.
• City leaders: The Springfield City Commission unanimously passed a resolution asking federal immigration agents to follow local rules when conducting enforcement activities.
• Politicians react: Our statehouse reporter Avery Kreemer reached out to politicians who represent Dayton and Springfield at the state and national level about their views on ending TPS and an ICE surge. Read that story here.
• How we got here: We have been reporting on the growth of the Haitian population in Springfield and its effect on the community for years. This story from the archive explains why so many Haitians relocated to Springfield, Ohio.
• Community survey: In addition to reporters interviewing residents on the street, we created an online survey to gather community perspective. I’ll have a summary of responses in an upcoming story.
• Dayton action: Several Dayton restaurants and other businesses closed Friday and hundreds of people gathered in front of U.S. Rep. Mike Turner’s Dayton office as part of the nationwide protest of ICE operations.
• Springfield City Hall, school, county hit by threats tied to Haitian immigration concerns
• VIDEO: What to know about Haitian immigration in Springfield
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