Ohio Prepares To Be ICE’s Next Target
Here’s what you can do to help
On Tuesday, Feb. 3, 15,000 Haitian immigrants are set to lose their “Temporary Protected Status” in Springfield, Ohio.
Local residents are preparing for a 30-day ICE surge - even though conditions in Haiti are more dangerous than ever, thousands of children could be separated from their parents, and the Haitian community has helped fuel the small town’s economic comeback.
If Springfield sounds familiar, there’s a reason why.
During the 2024 election cycle, Donald Trump and JD Vance spent months attacking the community and spreading dangerous disinformation about Haitian immigrants, leading to public harassment and bomb threats directed at schools, hospitals, and government buildings.
In some schools, immigrant students make up as much as 40 percent of the student population – that’s thousands of Haitian and Haitian-American children that could be separated from their parents if ICE targets them.
In response, churches are organizing to shelter children separated from their parents, and neighbors are establishing phone chains as an early warning system against ICE activity.
We stood up for Springfield, Ohio, when JD Vance and Donald Trump lied about Haitians who live and work there during the 2024 campaign, and we’re doing it again now.
If you can, please donate to local organizations in Springfield that provide direct support to Haitian families, such as the Haitian Help and Support Center and ABLE. We also need to demand accountability from ICE agents and to oppose any additional ICE funding in the DHS budget.
Red Wine & Blue is holding an emergency community meeting tomorrow night to support Springfield — fully virtual, so you can join from anywhere. We’ll hear from local residents and legal experts, help raise funds for local groups providing direct support to Haitian families in Springfield, and take action, no matter where you live.