A Prayer For The Haitians Of Springfield

      I know the town of Springfield, Ohio well. That is to say, I knew it well 15 years ago when one of my daughters was a student there at Wittenberg University from 2007-2011. Back then Springfield was a rather down-at-the-heels place, except for the area around the University, from which I imagine Springfield drew a good portion of its financial sustenance. I myself contributed minutely to Springfield's economy during my visits to my daughter, which mayhaps happened a bit more often than was absolutely necessary for a parent to visit their college student after I was introduced to (and subsequently developed a sporadic craving for) several of what I considered to be Springfield's culinary delights: 
      The incomparable subs and fries at the Our Hero Subs;

...the pizza at the Hickory Inn, 

...though it never made sense to me how a place that served up the standard variety of tasty American fare could also whip up what had to be in the running for the best pizza on the planet.
       I once asked one of the Hickory House staff what was their secret to making such excellent pizza. They replied, "Oh, we just make the sauce, and grate the cheese..." And that was as much of the secret as they saw fit to reveal.
        And then there was Schuler's  bakery, where the donuts were, if not to die for, at least to travel the hour from Gahanna, where I live, to Springfield.

​    (Apparently Schuler's has since closed this old location and moved to a new one since my donut days there).
       But back then Springfield was hemorrhaging  population, the life blood of any city, and continued to hemorrhage until, beginning in 2013, Haitians, who had been granted Temporary Protected Status as refugees after the earthquake that further devastated their already impoverished country in 2010, began arriving in Springfield, Ohio. Apparently word had spread among the Haitian refugee community that here was a  city offering jobs, affordable housing, and the opportunity to build a new life.
​      And so, in building new lives for themselves, the hard-working Haitian immigrants brought new life to Springfield. They worked in the factories, in the warehouses, in the service industries, in retail,

...and started a number of new  businesses, including restaurants, food trucks, and markets. ​

    And in earning an income, they also spent money locally. They helped revitalize the economy and expand the tax base. They filled the empty houses and increased the flagging student population in the schools. In total around 15,000 Haitians moved to Springfield, Ohio and today make up 25% of the city's population.  But now, thanks to Donald Trump's agenda of cruelty and economic recklessness, all that may change for Springfield and its Haitians.
         As living conditions in Haiti continued to deteriorate and became more dangerous than before the 2010 earthquake, Temporary  Protected Status for Haitians was extended by both Presidents Barak Obama and Joe Biden. 
         Donald Trump, on the other hand, actively tried to end TPS for Haitians during all four years of his first presidency, but was continually blocked by the courts.   
      During this his second presidency Trump continues his campaign to send Haitian refugees  back to a terrible fate and came very close to succeeding last week. 
          On Trump's orders February 3, 2026 was to be the day that all Haitians in the United States lost their protected status and after this date would no longer be in this country legally. Amid predictions that hoards of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were set to swoop into Springfield and round up the city's Haitians, Springfield's churches and faith groups protested,

​...and our Republican governor Mike DeWine and the mayor Springfield spoke out against ending the Haitians' TPS. As for Ohio's two senators, both Republicans, one, Bernie Moreno, said the Haitians should solve the problem themselves by self-deporting,

...while the other, Jon Husted, has been on radio silence.

     In those days before their legal status was to end, their last days before the ICE agents would come for them, I could see the Haitians of Springfield,  desolate, crying, terrified of what the future had in store for them and their families, their children. I imagined this is how it must have been for the final days of the European Jews before they were herded off to the trains that took them to the concentration camps, ​

...where they had no better chance of survival than will the Haitians if they are sent back to the violent, lawless, no-man's-land that Haiti has become.
        Thankfully, on February 2, the day before the Haitians were to lose their TPS, a federal judge stepped in and blocked Trump's order, citing its invalidity on several levels. And though the Trump administration has filed an appeal to the judge's decision,  the Haitians of Springfield have at least received a reprieve. They need not fear looking out their windows and seeing ICE agents barreling up their walk or hear them pounding on their door. At least not today.
        Those of us whose hearts go out to the Haitians are filled with gratitude and hope that their lives - and the life of Springfield, Ohio -  may be spared.       

     As for the others, those who are saying, "Temporary means temporary, send them all back to Haiti now..."  Well, I don't understand how people can be so cruel.  
​​

References:
https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/this-is-good-for-us-patrons-at-springfield-haitian-restaurant-react-to-judge-blocking-end-of-tps-for-haiti/RMXV2EBOMRCVNOQPVCS55SK

https://www.statenews.org/government-politics/2026-02-06/ohio-agencies-making-plans-to-help-kids-of-haitians-if-tps-ends-and-ice-surges

https://www.dispatch.com/picture-gallery/news/2026/02/02/hundreds-gather-to-support-haitian-immigrants-in-springfield-ohio/88477816007/?link_source=ta_first_comment&taid=69850be2a9c7ef00019d6938&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawPzbWZleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFVRXN3WVdFQTdTajNsdTU4c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHschz3T14qXZFzKFQOqPE0_QVlMWYSjMg_Xp9eikjgtU1K-i5ULCTvPEmvMV_aem_sdQXuzuPVcSZQJOndnr_6w

https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2026/02/05/ohio-senators-governor-respond-to-calls-from-brown-to-extend-protections-for-haitians/

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5725642-ohio-gov-defends-haitian-tps/