Ohio is home to about 30,000 Haitian residents, with an estimated 15,000 living in the city of Springfield, OH, making it one of the largest concentrations in the state.

The roots of this migration lie in Haiti’s crises: the devastating 2010 earthquake, subsequent hurricanes, political instability marked by gang violence and fragile governments, and a lack of economic opportunities. These conditions pushed many Haitians to seek a future in the United States.

Haitians settled in Ohio in recent years, drawn by job opportunities in construction and manufacturing, and by a lower cost of living compared to other parts of the country. Springfield in particular became a key destination thanks to existing community networks.

This migration revitalized the local economy and added cultural diversity, but it also strained public services and made the community a target of anti-immigrant rhetoric, including Donald Trump’s false claim during a 2024 presidential debate that Haitian immigrants were eating cats and dogs. That racist rumor thrust Springfield into the national spotlight, attracting White supremacist marches and fueling hostility against the Haitian population.

In 2026, Ohio has become a focal point in the national debate over immigration enforcement.

TPS Uncertainty for Haitian Immigrants in Ohio and Across the US

Of the over one million Haitian immigrants in the United States, approximately 330,000 hold Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a designation established for Haiti in 2010. The others are US citizens of Haitian origin, lawful permanent residents, and others with varied immigration statuses.

The potential expiration of TPS for the tens of thousands of Haitians in Ohio has generated widespread concern. The Trump administration was set to end the program by early February 2026, but at the last minute a federal judge temporarily barred the termination. The Trump administration and the Department of Homeland Security are now appealing the ruling to the Supreme Court.

But driver’s licenses for TPS-holding Haitians did expire, as did many work permits, as both were connected to the original TPS expiration date. Going in-person to attempt to renew these documents is both complicated and, at a time when ICE is seizing people with impunity elsewhere in the country, potentially unsafe.

In Springfield and in the nearby capital city, Columbus, Haitian immigrants in Ohio fear what an increase in operations by ICE in their communities might mean.

Read the full article about supporting Haitian immigrants in Ohio by María Constanza Costa at Nonprofit Quarterly.