Springfield’s Haitian community faces deportation as US policy shifts

Springfield, Ohio, has become a symbol in the US debate over immigration as President Donald Trump’s deportation drive affects its Haitian community. The town’s story also reflects a wider pattern: industrial decline followed by an influx of migrants drawn by affordable housing and low-paid work.

Pierre Damas Bel, a 20-year-old Haitian migrant, died after walking into traffic near Springfield on 31 August. His family linked his death to the shame he described over wearing an ankle monitor while facing deportation; ICE has rejected blame for his death. The Supreme Court upheld the administration’s decision to end Temporary Protected Status for about 350,000 Haitians, while the administration has terminated TPS for more than a million people from 13 countries.