Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, has pledged to revoke the short-term protective status of Haitian immigrants and push for their deportations during a second term in the White House.
If Trump is elected Tuesday and that day comes down the line, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said deportations in Springfield would reverse positive economic progress in the city.
“The reality is that some of the economic progress that we have made, that Springfield has made, would go away,” DeWine said at a Wednesday press conference. “These Haitians came here to work. They were hired because they would work.”
By local estimates, over the last several years, around 15,000 immigrants from Haiti have become part of Springfield’s population—which was less than 60,000 during the last census. Most are receiving short-term protections from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to work legally in the United States, a status that has been extended through at least 2026 as the Caribbean island endures political violence and instability.
Officials say the years-long population swell has put strain on numerous resources, from health care to road safety to housing availability. During a polarizing election cycle, though, politicians like Trump’s running mate and Ohio’s junior Sen. JD Vance have pointed to Springfield as an immigration issues poster child.
Bernie Moreno, the Trump-endorsed Republican nominee running to unseat U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, said he takes issue with the federal government offering short-term legal status in most instances.
“They're allowed to be in this country until February of 2026,” Moreno said Monday in an interview. “I acknowledge that, and by the way, respect that. Disagree that it should have been done, think it was a corruption of our immigration system, but it's expiring in February of 2026. They need to make plans to leave.”
Moreno has gone to Springfield twice, including in September, calling the situation then a “total disgrace.”
Though DeWine’s comments clash with what the rest of his political party is saying, he reaffirmed that he still plans to vote a straight-GOP ticket Tuesday.
