Members of the Springfield Haitian community plan to walk more than 40 miles to the Ohio statehouse to demand an end to "cruel immigration policies."
An estimated 15,000 Haitians were living in Springfield under temporary protected status when the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to end TPS in June.
Haitian residents of Springfield were ordered to report to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office outside Cincinnati, and some were given ankle monitors. The ankle monitoring drew national attention after the family of Pierre Damas Bel said shame and bullying around the ankle monitor drove the 20-year-old Haitian immigrant to die by throwing himself under a moving truck.
Where are they marching?
Community leaders and Haitian residents will spend four
days, from Oct. 21-24, marching from Springfield to the statehouse, according to a press release. The marchers are calling on the government to:
- End the ankle monitoring program;
- Remove Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from Springfield;
- Return Haitians in detention to their families;
- Establish permanent protected status for Haitian people in the U.S.
The marchers will leave Springfield City Plaza at 7:30 a.m. Oct. 21. Later that night, Gilbert Joubert Adrien, a pastor who ICE detained in August, will lead a community worship at Champion City Church in Springfield. Adrien was detained Aug. 20 and released on bond Sept. 15.
The march will end at 1 p.m. Oct. 24 with a rally at West Bank Park in Columbus.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Springfield residents to march 40 miles, demand end to 'cruel' policies
