“I want to make sure that everyone understands, once we have a clear direction of what the law is and requires of us, we are obligated by our oath of office to follow that law, and we will,” Estrop said. “But until we have a clear understanding of what the law is and we’re being told to do this or that with the support of the courts, it’s not clear. Right now our crystal ball is absolutely muddy, foggy; whatever description you want to use, we can’t see clearly right now. Things are at best confusing.”
Credit: Jessica Orozco
Credit: Jessica Orozco
The Department of Homeland Security on March 21 said it will revoke legal protections for hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who arrived through an immigration program called parole and were given two-year permits to live and work in the U.S. They will lose their legal status on April 24.
Those here via parole who do not have another form of legal status like asylum or Temporary Protected Status will be impacted.
The Trump administration also recently vacated a previous Biden decision on Temporary Protected Status, meaning Haiti’s current TPS designation will expire this August instead of in February 2026 as originally scheduled. Many local Haitians have been here for years, have TPS status and obtained work permits and employment.
Actual enforcement of changing immigration standards for Haitian residents and other migrants has traditionally been the responsibility of federal agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Those agencies often notify local law enforcement agencies when they’re going to take action within their boundaries.
Credit: NYT
Credit: NYT
Teena Siebold, a Springfield resident, asked commissioners about families in the case of deportations of Haitians.
“Now I’m sure there will be court cases, that there might be injunctions, but my concern is that as I speak right now, the birthright citizenship is still legal in this country. So how many children are we looking at that potentially could be losing their parents when their status is revoked?” Siebold asked. “And what are we going to do as a community to help those children?”
Siebold said she thinks the community needs to discuss supporting children if they are separated from their parents.
City government leaders met with Ohio Sen. Kyle Koehler and State Rep. Bernie Willis last week to talk about state-level issues, Estrop said.
“We are trying to stay in contact with them, but again, please understand we have no more authority in dealing with the state or federal government than all of you have. None,” Estrop said. “We have no authority to change state laws or the state constitution or U.S. laws or the U.S. Constitution. That’s above our pay grade. ”
Diana Daniels, who owns a Springfield business, has been an outspoken opponent of “exploitation” of Haitian immigrants. She has accused the city and others of bringing a “horde” to Springfield. She told commissioners that she and others “are just about finished putting the crime scene together,” and turned over information “to the appropriate authorities.”
“Your replacement population is woefully unable to take care of themselves without government intervention,” Daniels said.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Ohio’s Republican governor Mike DeWine has offered a different opinion on Springfield’s Haitian residents. Last fall, he repeatedly said the Haitian residents in Springfield came here to work and have helped the city make a resurgence. DeWine said while there have been struggles with health care, schools and driver safety, multiple companies told his office that Haitians had been good workers and have helped the local economy.
Jen Casto, another Springfield resident, raised concerns about “racism, xenophobia and bigotry mainly directed at our Haitian neighbors.” She said many complaints during public comment at city meetings came from people who “did not pay attention in their high school government and/or civics classes, and it shows.”
“I would implore those who fit these criteria to educate themselves on how local, state and federal government works, and what level each is responsible for,” Casto said. “An individual’s time and our city government’s time could be saved in that scenario.”
Casto implored people to educate themselves and to speak up for marginalized communities.
“I know that many now feel even more obligates to make defamatory comments about those who look differently from them, speak differently from them, live differently than them, practice their religion or lack of religion different from them and so on,” Casto said. “As a reminder, unless you’re a Native American, you are an immigrant here.”
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Credit: Tom Gilliam
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