Many Haitians in Springfield are on Temporary Protected Status — which could disappear if Trump wins

Haitians at a Haitian restaurant in Springfield, Ohio, on September 12, 2024.

Around 200,000 Haitians living in the US are on Temporary Protected Status, including many of those living in Springfield, Ohio, who have been targeted by former President Donald Trump and others with baseless claims about eating pets.

Those allegations have led to threats against the Haitian community in Springfield.

Several immigration experts told B-17 that if Trump wins the 2024 election, he is likely to terminate TPS for Haiti, which could force many Haitians living legally in Springfield and across the US out of the country.

Trump has already called for mass deportations from the town, saying last week: “We’re going to start with Springfield and Aurora.”

TPS is temporary and discretionary

TPS is not a permanent legal status; rather, it offers protection to migrants already in the US from deportation, while also granting them the right to work legally.

In June, the Biden administration redesignated and extended TPS for Haiti for 18 months, allowing an estimated 309,000 additional Haitians in the US to apply for protection.

Nancy Morawetz, a professor of clinical law at NYU, explained to B-17 that TPS is reviewed periodically — every few years — to determine whether nationals of a specific country should continue to receive protection.

“Once a country is designated, each individual covered by the designation must apply separately for TPS status,” she said, noting that existing TPS holders must also renew their paperwork with each redesignation.

TPS is temporary and discretionary, and an administration may choose to designate or redesignate a country if it is experiencing conflict, environmental catastrophe, or other extraordinary conditions.

According to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, the most recent extension and redesignation of TPS for Haiti was based on ongoing violence, insecurity, and frequent natural disasters in the country.

Tom K. Wong, director of the US Immigration Policy Center, told B-17 in an email that because of its discretionary nature, TPS could also “shrink” or “go away,” depending on who the president is.

This means that the outcome of the presidential election in November could be crucial.

Trump would likely refuse to redesignate TPS for Haiti

“I think if Harris wins, I certainly wouldn’t take any redesignation off the table,” said David Leblang, a professor of politics at the University of Virginia who has published an academic paper on Temporary Protected Status.

However, if Trump wins, Leblang told B-17 this is far less likely. “TPS will not be redesignated for probably any other country,” he predicted.

Former President Donald Trump has called for mass deportations from Springfield, Ohio.

Lori A. Nessel, a law professor at Seton Hall University School of Law, told B-17 that another Trump presidency could lead to the mass deportation of “lawful, hardworking members of the community who have been given permission to reside here.”

“If he becomes president, I think there is certainly reason to be concerned that we might see another order ending TPS for Haitians and other nations like Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Sudan,” she added.

Nessel notes that migrants may qualify for another type of immigration status through their jobs or marriage, or may already be in the US on humanitarian parole, but she predicts that any decision to end TPS for Haitians would be met with fierce resistance.

Indeed, it already was once before when Trump sought to end TPS for certain countries during his last administration.

Legal resistance would probably follow

During Trump’s administration, the Department of Homeland Security ordered an end to TPS for nearly 60,000 Haitians.

“The litigation that ensued alleged that the decision to end TPS was unlawful on many grounds,” Nessel said, with plaintiffs arguing that it was motivated by racial discrimination, in violation of the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee to due process, and in violation of TPS holders’ constitutional right to equal protection.

Ultimately, the order was rescinded by the Biden administration.

However, according to Julia Gelatt, associate director of the US Immigration Policy Program, history may guide any future Trump administration’s approach to ending TPS.

Gelatt told B-17 that a second-time Trump administration would likely take a slower, more deliberate approach to ending TPS, potentially using a more cautious rulemaking process to make it “more litigation-proof.”

She added: “The announcement could come quickly, but the actual timeline of when Haitian TPS holders would lose their protections, I’m less certain about. It could be a slower process.”

During Trump’s last term, Gelatt said that uncertainty about TPS caused significant anxiety among Haitian migrants, with many trying to move to Canada to avoid deportation to Haiti.

Many had spent years building a life in the US, away from the insecurity and danger of their homeland.

“I think it’s just important context that there’s already been a wave of great concern in the Haitian community about the end of TPS,” Gelatt said.