USA26 July, 20262 min read
ICE Plans Arrests of Haitians in Ohio as TPS Ends, Deportation Flights to Haiti
“plans to dramatically ramp up operations to locate and arrest Haitian nationals”
“The impact is not just for the TPS recipients, but our whole communities”
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
ICE plans a major operation to arrest and deport Haitians after TPS ends. Ohio, including Springfield, targeted for arrests per internal ICE documents.
ICE targets Haitians in Ohio
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to ramp up operations to locate and arrest Haitian nationals whose Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is expected to end, with the expanded operation expected to begin as soon as this week.
“The expanded operation is expected to begin as soon as this week.”
Fox News reported that the Supreme Court’s certified judgment is expected to be transmitted to lower courts on Monday, clearing the way for the Trump administration to proceed with ending TPS for more than 300,000 Haitians.
CBS News, citing two agency sources and federal documents, said the plans include arresting migrants in Ohio, including cities like Springfield, and quickly putting them on deportation flights to crisis-stricken Haiti.
The CBS report also said the internal plans were made as more than 300,000 Haitians prepare to lose deportation protections and work permits under TPS, and that the operations targeting Haitian migrants could start as early as this week.
Officials defend, critics fear
In a statement to Fox News Digital, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson called the Supreme Court ruling "a tremendous win" and said, "temporary protected status is, by definition, temporary." DHS General Counsel James Percival praised the ruling in a post on X, writing, "The T in TPS stands for TEMPORARY, yet many of these designations became de facto amnesty."
At the same time, CBS News reported that DHS said it "does not discuss ongoing or future operations" and argued TPS has been used as a "defacto amnesty program" while telling those set to lose status that "it's closing time which means you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here." CBS News also quoted Guerline Jozef, executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, saying, "Once again our community members find themselves in a state of extreme trauma, fear and terror."
What happens next
CBS News said Haitian communities and immigrants whose TPS lapses immediately lose their ability to work in the country legally and become eligible to be arrested and processed for deportation by ICE unless they have another status. The CBS report added that those without removal orders are generally entitled to appear before an immigration judge before any deportation can take place, even as the internal documents suggested operations could start as early as this week.
It also described the operational and humanitarian stakes, noting that significant portions of Haiti are controlled by criminal gangs and that the U.S. has generally limited deportations to Cap-Haïtien due to instability and insecurity in Port-au-Prince. In the same CBS account, the Department of Homeland Security statement said TPS has been used as a "defacto amnesty program" and reiterated, "The good news is it's not too late to get a $2,600 check and a free flight home."