Trump Pledged To Deport Haitians— Springfield Headed Back To Depression
Conservative Republican Mike DeWine spent most of his life living in Springfield and its suburbs. He still does, except when he’s in Columbus being governor. And one of the things he did as governor was to leverage his relationships in Haiti’s religious community to recruit Haitians to move to Springfield (pop- 60,000), a rapidly dying rust belt community. In all, something like 12-15,000 Haitians moved to Springfield and its environs using TPS and other government programs, starting in 2018 when DeWine was still Attorney General. He was elected governor that year.
Haitian resettlement in the declining community brought several advantages, particularly economic. Haitians filled labor shortages in critical local industries— manufacturing, agriculture and service sectors. At the same time, the new residents contributed to the local economy by renting or purchasing homes, buying goods and services and paying taxes. Their presence increased demand, which supported local businesses. In response to the migration and population stability, the state government has increased investment in infrastructure and social services, from healthcare to education, even driver education programs, improvements that benefit both new immigrants and long-standing residents.
Entirely thanks to the lies Trump and Vance told about them, Haitians, fearful about being rounded up and deported, have begun moving out of Springfield. Keep in mind that Trump increased his margin of victory, slightly, in Clark County since 2020. Business is already falling off. Haitian families have moved to Boston, to New Jersey, to Canada.
Trump has repeatedly said he would end immigrants’ temporary protected status (TPS)— the provision through which many Haitians are legally allowed to live and work in the US— and deport Haitians from Springfield once in office.
For many, the threats are real.
A sheriff in Sidney, a town 40 miles (64km) north-west of Springfield that is home to several dozen Haitian immigrants, allegedly told local police in September to “get a hold of these people and arrest them”.
“Bring them— I’ll figure out if they’re legal,” he said, referencing Haitian immigrants in the area
… Springfield’s Haitian community has been in the spotlight since Trump falsely accused immigrants here of eating pets during a presidential debate in September. Since then, the city has seen false bomb threats and marches by neo-Nazi groups after having experienced a revival in recent years in large part because of Haitians who took jobs in local produce packaging and machining factories that many previously there found undesirable.
… Trump’s deportation threats are happening at a time when Haiti is experiencing renewed violence from politically connected gangs. The country’s main airport in Port-au-Prince has been closed periodically and was shuttered again on Tuesday after gunfire hit a commercial passenger airplane flying in from the US. That was the second time since October that gunfire had hit an aircraft over Haiti.
Though Trump may ultimately succeed in ending TPS for some immigrants, some legal experts believe that is unlikely to happen during the early days of his administration after his second presidency begins on 20 January.
“There’s a fear among the Haitian community that TPS is going to end on 20 January, and I don’t think that is very likely for a number of reasons,” said Katie Kersh, a senior attorney at the non-profit law firm Advocates for Basic Legal Equality.
“The strain any deportation effort would place on an already stretched immigration court system would be significant.”
Even if the program was ended, Kersh says, current law allows for a court hearing that could take months or years to take place. Similarly, immigrants who have asylum applications filed also have an opportunity to have that application heard.
By ending TPS, Trump could in fact make the issue of undocumented immigration even worse.
“TPS provides employment authorization and a right to reside in the US, so when a TPS grant ends, the people who have it immediately lose employment authorization unless another status which provides it is available to them,” said Ahilan Arulanantham of UCLA’s School of Law, who was among several lawyers to successfully challenge an earlier attempt by Trump to end TPS for Haitians as well as others in 2018.
“That effect occurs regardless of whether they later face deportation.”
For companies in Springfield and in nearby communities that depend on Haitian labor, Trump’s comments could prove damaging. The Haitians who filled thousands of jobs at area packaging and auto plants have helped rejuvenate once-blighted neighborhoods and contributed to the local economy in myriad ways.
While many food products lining the shelves of Springfield’s Caribbean stores are imported, many items— bread from Florida and pinto beans from Nebraska— are American. Chicken, beef and eggs served at Haitian restaurants are regularly sourced from local farms.
Recently, a Haitian community organization bought a former fire station it hopes to turn into a facility for English language classes, drivers’ education and a meeting spot.
“I pay thousands of dollars in income and property taxes every year,” said Payen, “and— because I work with Haitians to file their taxes— I see their W-2s and so on. If these people leave, that money is gone from the city and the local economy.”
…Huge numbers of US guns have been trafficked Haiti in recent years— a fact that is not lost on some in the Springfield community.
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