FLASHBACK: 2024’s immigration ground zero in spotlight again as judge's 11th hour ruling sparks outrage
Roughly 15,000 Haitians living in Springfield, Ohio, were on the verge of being deported Tuesday as their Temporary Protective Status (TPS) was set to expire. A federal judge has now temporarily blocked the expiration, setting up a legal showdown with the Trump administration and thrusting the small city — which became the epicenter of the immigration debate during the Biden administration — once again into the national spotlight.
The Department of Homeland Security officially terminated Haiti’s TPS designation earlier this year, meaning protections extended and expanded by the Biden administration in 2024 allowing hundreds of thousands of Haitians to live and work legally in the U.S. was set to end at 11:59 p.m. Feb. 3 unless they secure another lawful status.
On Monday night, U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes in Washington, D.C., blocked the Trump administration and granted an emergency request Monday to pause the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians while a lawsuit challenging the decision goes ahead.
In an 83-page order, Reyes said the termination would be "null, void, and of no legal effect" during the stay, preserving recipients’ ability to work and shielding them from arrest and removal.
The judge’s order sparked an immediate backlash from the Trump administration.
"Supreme Court, here we come," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin posted on X. "This is lawless activism that we will be vindicated on."
"Haiti’s TPS was granted following an earthquake that took place over 15 years ago, it was never intended to be a de facto amnesty program, yet that’s how previous administrations have used it for decades."
McLaughlin went on to say that "temporary means temporary" and "the final word will not be from an activist judge legislating from the bench."
Stephen Miller, White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, posted on X, "An unelected judge has just ruled that elections, laws and borders don’t exist."
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As the deadline for the TPS expiration approached, politicians and liberal activist groups began preparing for federal immigration agents to descend upon Springfield, Ohio, a small suburban town in southwest Ohio between Dayton and Columbus, that was at the forefront of the immigration debate during the Biden administration.
On Sunday, demonstrators gathered at a Springfield Church engaged in a role-play demonstration posed as ICE agents and protested the possibility of the roughly 15,000 Haitians in Springfield being deported. Days earlier, former Ohio Dem. Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is attempting a political comeback in the 2026 Senate race, called on Ohio Republicans to publicly support extending the protective status in a post that drew strong pushback from conservatives on social media.
While the Haitian migrants, many of whom came to Springfield after the assassination of Haitian president Jovenel Moïse in 2021, were welcomed in by many local leaders, tensions began to bubble to the surface, highlighted by an incident in 2023 where a Haitian immigrant driving a minivan collided with a school bus, killing 11-year-old Aiden Clark and injuring dozens of other children.
Locals in Springfield have repeatedly expressed frustrations over road safety, arguing that immigrants who have little to no experience driving in their home countries have been allowed to take to the streets with ease, causing a dangerous situation on the roads.
Many of the Haitians who poured into the country during the Biden administration did not have a visa to enter the U.S. initially, and critics argued that the administration used "parole" and "TPS" as a loophole to mass-legalize people who would otherwise be considered illegal aliens.
In July 2024, Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck sent a letter to the Senate Banking and Housing Committee, warning that the surge of 15,000 to 20,000 migrants had created a housing crisis that was unsustainable for a town of 60,000.
During the 2024 presidential election, Springfield, Ohio, was ground zero for the immigration debate as residents sounded the alarm about the uncontrolled influx of migrants into the town they say drained resources and services, made the town less safe, drove up rents and caused longer wait times for medical and social services.
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Springfield became a flashpoint in the presidential election when both President-elect Donald Trump and Vice-President elect JD Vance claimed that Haitian migrants were eating pets there, citing social media posts.
"They're eating the dogs, the people that came in, they're eating the cats," Trump said on the debate stage against Vice-President Harris. "They're eating the pets of the people that live there, and this is what's happening in our country, and it's a shame."
Trump also vowed on the campaign trail that he would end TPS for Haitian migrants and carry out a large-scale deportation effort, promises that Fox News Digital reported in mid-November caused some Haitians to leave the town following Trump’s decisive election victory.
If the TPS status is ultimately revoked, it is unclear what actions ICE will take in Springfield, if any, and although Republican voters largely support Trump's immigration agenda, Ohio’s Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, widely considered to be outside the MAGA wing of the party, suggested Friday. he has concerns about ICE operations in Springfield.
"I think the taking away of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians is a mistake. I think it’s a mistake from a policy point of view for a couple reasons," DeWine said during a press conference, Dayton Daily News reported.
"One, the situation in Haiti is as dire as I have ever seen it. The gangs are controlling a good part of the country, it’s extremely violent, the economy’s in shambles, the government does not function, the police are virtually worthless, so this is a very, very dangerous place. It doesn’t qualify as the situation changing for the better in Haiti."
DeWine continued, "But probably more important for the United States and the people of Ohio, is that the Temporary Protected Status, if it goes away next week, it’s going to mean that you have thousands of Haitians who are working, contributing members of the community, contributing to the economy, who one day will be able to work and the next day will then not be able to work."
If ICE were to carry out operations in Springfield, DeWine said he expects them to follow "good police practices" and "follow the law."
"If someone wants to demonstrate, they have the right to demonstrate. But, no one should be there to physically interfere with ICE doing what, legally, they are allowed to do," DeWine added.
If the Trump administration officially requests the Supreme Court to get involved and a stay is issued, the administration can resume ending TPS and potentially start enforcement actions in Springfield and other jurisdictions immediately, even while the actual lawsuit continues in the lower courts.
"When a Democrat president can create a TEMPORARY program and an unelected Democrat judge can unilaterally block a duly-elected Republican president from ever undoing it, we do not live in a democracy," Ohio Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno posted on X following the Monday ruling.
"It’s not Permanent Protected Status. This outrageous decision cannot stand."
Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan and Emma Bussey contributed to this report.