“Alé, alé, alé” they shout in Haitian creole. For many, this sanctuary is a refuge from the storm awaiting outside of anti-immigrant sentiment and fear that after legally entering the U.S., the life they built here could be destroyed.
“It’s because we have faith that the storm will be over one day. It won’t be forever. What makes us believe that is hope that one day God will touch the hearts of the people working for the government,” said a mother of two, before breaking down into tears.
As her husband soothes her, it’s clear the stress and anxiety have taken a heavy toll on them. The husband shares that most days they don’t go out. The government took away their legal ability to work. They have been forced to wait and pray for things to get better.
The Springfield News-Sun spoke to the couple on the condition of anonymity because of fears of reprisal for them or their families. They spoke with a reporter at the church with Haitian community leader James P. Fleurijean on hand to translate.
“There are so many people, more than half of the Haitian community living in Springfield that are in such a situation,” Fleurijean said.
“The Haitian community support center is trying to support them any way we can with what we have. Sometimes we give them clothes, food, and cash. But now, it’s like we are facing the end of everything. Its like we are pushing the end of the reserve we had to help these people. The situation is getting worse and worse every day.”
Haiti today
For a year and a half the couple and their two children have lived in Springfield. They came under the Biden administration fleeing gang violence in Haiti, living and working in the country legally under Temporary Protected Status.
“Our lives changed right after the new president took office,” the husband said. “That is where our problems began.”
President Donald Trump on the campaign trail vowed begin “the largest deportation in the history of our country” in Springfield. And his administration has worked to remove legal status for Haitians living and working here as it ramps up aggressive enforcement efforts across the country.
The gangs that were so dangerous a force in 2024 have only grown in power. The UN estimates they control up to 90% of the capital Port-Au-Prince, with fighting expanding to the other population centers, and growing signs the conflict will not end anytime soon.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
The Associated Press reported last month that gang violence has left a record more than 1.3 million people homeless across Haiti in recent years, and hunger and poverty are only deepening. The United Nations recently announced the deployment of a gang suppression force to attempt to stabilize the country.
“The United States remains committed to working with international stakeholders to support Haiti’s path toward peace, stability, and democratic governance. We call on all nations to join us in this critical effort,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an Oct. 1 statement in support of the UN effort.
A State Department travel advisory for Haiti says: “Do not travel to Haiti due to kidnapping, crime, terrorist activity, civil unrest, and limited health care.”
But U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a division of the Department of Homeland Security led by Kristi Noem, revoked many Haitians’ legal status in the country and encourages them to self-deport back to Haiti.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
“After reviewing country conditions and consulting with appropriate U.S. Government agencies, the Secretary determined that Haiti no longer continues to meet the conditions for designation for TPS,” the agency declared in July.
The Trump administration attempted to terminate TPS effective Sept. 2, but a federal judge ruled it can’t end before Feb. 3, 2026.
“The Department of Homeland Security vehemently disagrees with this ruling and is working to determine next steps,” its website says.
Local Haitian advocates say they recently took their concerns about the impending end of TPS to Ohio’s U.S. Sen. Jon Husted and were told by Husted’s office to self-deport to a “third country” if they couldn’t return to Haiti.
Casey Rollins, director of St. Vincent de Paul in Springfield, said she asked Husted’s office about people with pending asylum claims and was told by Husted office: “They’re not going to be safe here.”
‘It’s like being paralyzed’
To the family of four interviewed by the News-Sun, the increased pressure on the Haitian community could not have come at a worse time.
“I had a two-year work permit but it was cut off after only three months,” the husband said.
According to him, neither he nor his wife have been able to work since May as a result. Their lives and the future of their children are hanging by a thread. It’s only due to the help of family and friends that they manage to survive at all.
Meanwhile, even immigrants in the country legally, like them, express fear of getting scooped up by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement amid news reports of people with open or pending immigration cases being detained, or immigrants accused of wrongdoing and deported without a trial.
“It is very stressful. I cannot even sleep at night. When my children go to school I’m so scared,” the mother of two stated.
“It’s like being paralyzed because you cannot work or take care of your family. You are in a situation where you cannot do anything,” said her husband.
“It is not just fear of an ICE agent arresting you. What makes matters worse is when they take you, you don’t know where they will send you. You can be taken from the United States and sent to any other country, a place you were not born in and know nothing about.”
Those left behind
The family has numerous relatives back in Haiti that once relied on them for remittances. Now that lifeline has been cut at a time when gun battles across the country have gotten worse than ever.
“Back in Haiti I have my mother, my little brother, and other family I have to support. We just lost our father. But I was able to help them when I could work but can’t anymore,” the husband said.
“We left a lot of people behind,” his wife explains. “They count on us. They ask for help because they know we are in a better country but the only answer we can give is no, we cannot help them.”
Currently, their hometown is the epicenter of a battle between a coalition of gangs on one side and the Haitian National Police backed by the UN peacekeeping force led by Kenya. Fighting is expected to escalate with the increased UN troops.
If deported to Haiti in the near term, the country they return to will be far worse than the one they left.
“We have an airport operating but it’s far to the north of the country. If we go there, there is a chance they will think we are a threat because we are from the capital. We would need to be able to defend ourselves otherwise we could be killed,” the husband explained.
Additionally, there are real concerns for the safety of their children. Reports from UNICEF indicate that children have been forced to join gangs, been killed in the fighting, and are frequently subjected to extreme sexual violence. From 2023 to 2024, the number of children recruited by gangs rose 70%, according to the UN based organization. In February, UNICEF spokesperson James Elder stated that sexual violence against children had risen by 1000% during the same period.
“In Haiti, you might be sleeping in one place one day and somewhere else the next because you never know when they will come to attack you,” he said. “When you run you take what you have. Sometimes you run with no shoes, sometimes with no clothes, it depends on the state you were in when the attacks happened. Anybody can be a victim.”
“If something happens they won’t make an exception whether you are a man or woman. Whatever happens they won’t spare or protect me. They don’t even spare children or newborns are not exceptions,” she added.
‘A betrayal’
With the future of their family at risk, they feel a real sense of betrayal.
“If the previous government lets you come and the next administration cuts everything, to me that is a betrayal,” the husband said. “All our hope is to see our country get better so we can live in it.”
“I want people to know that the rumors they hear about Haitians are not true. We are not the way we have been described,” the husband said in reference to remarks made about them during the 2024 presidential race.
Yet despite negative media attention, they remain proud of their country. The husband shared a massive smile when asked to describe Haiti.
“Once you say Haiti, you see beauty,” he said, describing the evocative island landscape.
His wife, in turn, can only cry when thinking of their homeland. They hope to once again be able to work, but know regardless their future is in Haiti.
“All I have for the future is to see Haiti out of this current situation so that we can go back and live peacefully at home. I don’t want to die before I see Haiti become better,” he said.
Fleurijean notes that whatever happens to this couple and others in the same situation — the local Haitian community is estimated at over 10,000 people — it will impact will impact Springfield.
“Haitians, we are a very resilient people. I don’t think we are going to back down. Whatever happens will happen. Some of them will leave and I know so many of them that have already left. As you can tell, the majority of the employers now are complaining that they lost very good workers and employees. You can tell in Springfield, so many things are not (happening),” Fleurijean.
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