A student is dead. Two pastors have been detained. Non-criminals are walking around with ankle monitors.
This is the result of President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans’ decision to end Temporary Protected Status for Haitians. TPS is not a loophole. It’s a legal protection for people who can’t safely return home because of dangerous conditions.
It’s the most recent example of the Trump administration’s cruel and chaotic immigration policy.
Now, 350,000 Haitians are at risk of being deported back to a place where living conditions are getting worse as gangs continue to terrorize millions of people.
At the end of August, at least 47 people were killed, and
more than 50 others were kidnapped during a brutal gang attack in Port-au-Prince. This is just one recent example of why Haitians are leaving the only place they’ve known as home in search of a better life in America − including right here in Southwest Ohio.
They came here legally
Nearly 1,000 Haitians with TPS live in our district, while 15,000 more call Springfield home, many with TPS status.
Our churches are a huge reason why so many found safety and community here. Decades of instability, from coups and a catastrophic earthquake to gang violence, drew church groups to the region to help – and relationships developed. When people are fleeing for their lives, a church community sponsors them.
We’ve gotten to know who these families are. Unlike the false rumors Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance spread about Springfield Haitians eating their pets, they’re really investing in our communities by starting businesses, filling manufacturing jobs, leading churches, and are home health workers taking care of our families.
They contribute to our communities and work hard.
After years of building lives here legally, being forced back to Haiti would instantly change their livelihood. They would have a hard time finding housing, health care, or jobs. Many will starve. Some may not survive.
If our government says it’s not safe for Americans to travel to Haiti, why is it safe enough to deport tens of thousands of people there?
It would be completely inhumane.
Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine even said they would be sending these people "back to hell."
Why are we treating them like criminals?
Now, Haitians are reporting to the ICE facility in Blue Ash and leaving with ankle monitors. They aren’t criminals.
One of them was a 20-year-old honors student, Junior ROTC member, and college soccer player. His family said he was humiliated by the new ankle monitor, bullied, and sidelined from playing soccer.
Investigators say he walked into traffic and was killed by a tractor-trailer.
Two prominent Springfield pastors were detained − men doing their best to serve their congregation. One is being held in Butler County, and the other was taken out of state.
These faith leaders must be released.
It’s all so wrong and cruel to pick on anybody, especially a group this vulnerable. It should be a wake up call for the Department of Homeland Security and the entire Trump administration. ICE has to stop putting ankle monitors on people who aren’t criminals and detaining faith leaders who aren’t a threat to their communities.
The Senate can stop this
The House has already acted by passing legislation that would extend TPS protections for Haitians for three years. The Senate now has a choice: provide stability to families who are legally living, working and raising families here or allow this fear to continue.
Nothing will change until the Senate acts.
These are our neighbors, our coworkers, and members of our communities. They deserve to be treated with dignity. We might not agree on every immigration policy, but we should agree that our country can’t lose sight of its shared humanity.
We can’t send our neighbors back to hell.
U.S. Rep. Greg Landsman, a Democrat, represents Ohio's 1st Congressional House District and is a former Cincinnati councilman.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Don't send Ohio's Haitian neighbors 'back to hell' | Opinion
