- Governor DeWine confirmed federal officials have no immediate plans for raids in Springfield after TPS expiration.
- The Supreme Court’s ruling ended legal protections for thousands of Haitian workers in Ohio on July 27.
- State leaders warn that losing the Haitian workforce will be a significant blow to the economy.
- Advocates report families are choosing self-deportation to avoid enforcement and the sudden loss of income.
Gov. Mike DeWine said Wednesday that federal officials have no planned surge in immigration enforcement or raids in Springfield after Haitian Temporary Protected Status ended, though thousands of people have lost legal status and work authorization.
Speaking to reporters at the Ohio State Fair on July 29, 2026, DeWine said federal officials told him they had “no plans” and “no instructions” for raids in the city. He also said he had received no notification of planned Immigration and Customs Enforcement action in Ohio.
“The federal officials are now telling us that they do not have any plans, they've received no instructions, to have any kind of raids in Springfield”
DeWine said the state would comply with the Supreme Court’s decision allowing the Trump administration to end TPS. Ohio will obey the law, he said, “whether we like it or not.”
The federal government has not announced a raid campaign. The Department of Homeland Security declined to discuss ongoing or future operations.
Haiti TPS ended as Ohio families lost work authorization
Haitian TPS expired Monday, July 27, 2026, after the Supreme Court cleared the way for the administration to terminate the protection. The June ruling in Mullin v. Doe found, by a 6-3 vote, that the executive branch could end TPS and that most statutory and constitutional challenges, including claims of racial animus, could not be reviewed by the courts.
The decision affected between 330,000 and 350,000 Haitians nationwide. In central Ohio, about 30,000 Haitians live in the region, including an estimated 12,000 to 15,000 in the area around Springfield.
The change reaches beyond workers. About 1,500 U.S.-citizen children have been born to Haitian parents in the city in recent years, raising the prospect of families separating or leaving Ohio together.
Thousands have already begun moving or choosing what officials and advocates describe as self-deportation. Families have reported leaving the state to avoid possible enforcement or the loss of income that follows the end of work authorization.
DHS has offered people who choose to leave between $2,100 and $2,600, along with a free flight home.
DeWine calls the termination a mistake
DeWine opposed the administration’s decision before the July 27 expiration. He called deporting Haitians a “mistake” and a “blow to Springfield” and Ohio’s economy.
The governor has also warned about conditions in Haiti, describing the country as “one of the most dangerous places in the world.” Deportation, he said, means “sending people… back to hell.”
Haitian workers helped fuel the industrial “resurgence” in the Ohio community, DeWine and local employers have said. They filled positions that otherwise could have remained vacant.
The policy dispute now has two separate tracks. TPS has ended, while federal agencies say they have not received instructions for a new raid operation in the state.
Earlier Ohio arrests still shape the community’s fears
The assurance from DeWine follows a federal operation that unsettled immigrant communities in Ohio. During December 2025 and January 2026, ICE conducted what officials called Operation Buckeye, a deportation blitz that produced more than 280 arrests.
ICE Director Todd M. Lyons said the agency targets the “worst of the worst” criminal aliens while operating in Ohio every day. Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther and U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty criticized the operation, saying many people arrested had no criminal records.
That history has kept families alert even without a newly announced surge. Denise Williams, president of the Springfield NAACP, urged residents to remain cautious about possible ICE activity and to “look out for our neighbors now.”
Carl Ruby, senior pastor at Central Christian Church and a leading community advocate, described the immediate pressure on families who depend on hourly wages.
“The Haitian families I work with. have a short-term fear of, how am I going to pay my rent next week? How am I gonna put groceries on the table?”
Viles Dorsainvil, executive director of the Haitian Support Center, said the local community faces a “humanitarian crisis.” He said no local organization has the money to absorb the sudden loss of status for thousands of workers.
Federal officials defend the end of a temporary program
Markwayne Mullin, the DHS secretary, said TPS is “temporary” after the Supreme Court ruling. He also warned people whose protection had ended: “For those with terminated TPS: it's closing time. You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here.”
The administration’s position contrasts with DeWine’s assessment of the policy and the concerns voiced by local advocates. The governor has said ending TPS does not serve Ohio or the nation’s best interests.
The debate has also revived tensions from the 2024 presidential campaign, when false claims circulated about Haitian migrants in the Ohio city. Those claims intensified attention on a community that had become central to local industrial hiring.
The next phase remains uncertain
As of July 30, 2026, the atmosphere in the city and Columbus remained tense but relatively calm regarding physical enforcement. The end of TPS has already created a separate economic shock as workers lose authorization to remain employed.
DHS has not described future operations. DeWine’s account gives local officials one immediate fact to work with: federal officials told him they had no plans and no instructions for raids in the city.
The status change itself remains in effect. Families are weighing lost jobs, possible relocation and the risks of returning to Haiti while Ohio officials wait for any formal federal direction.
