Springfield, Ohio Haitians Ordered to Wear Ankle Monitors, Surrender Passports as TPS Ends

Haitians living in Springfield, Ohio — an estimated 15,000 people, part of roughly 30,000 Haitians with temporary status across central Ohio — began receiving letters in early August 2026 requiring them to report to ICE offices in Blue Ash (near Cincinnati) or Westerville (near Columbus), where officers confiscated their passports and fitted them with GPS ankle monitors carrying an approximately 75-mile tracking radius. Check-ins are expected every three to four weeks. The measure follows the U.S. Supreme Court's June 2026 ruling allowing the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status for the roughly 330,000 Haitians who fled gang violence in Haiti, with TPS formally terminating July 27, 2026. Only Haitians in Springfield are currently subject to the ankle-monitor requirement. Carl Ruby, pastor of Springfield's Central Christian Church, said the letters are 'inciting a lot of fear' and that 'their real goal is for them to self-deport.' Haiti remains under a Level 4 'Do Not Travel' U.S. State Department advisory due to gang violence, kidnapping, and civil unrest; more than 1,000 U.S. citizen children in Springfield have Haitian parents affected by the policy.