Immigration attorneys and activists are preparing for a potential rise in ICE enforcement as temporary protected status for Haitianscomes to an end.
Anxiety has been high since a June 25 U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing the Trump administration to move forward with ending Temporary Protected Status for Haitians while legal challenges continue.
The decision led to the July 27 expiration of employment authorization documents tied to Haiti's TPS designation after a brief extension from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, leaving many Haitian workers without legal authorization to work unless they have another immigration status.
While much of the national attention has focused on Springfield's Haitian community, advocates say Columbus is
home to an even larger Haitian population − roughly 30,000 people − many of whom are now grappling with the loss of work authorization, uncertainty about employment and fears of renewed immigration enforcement.
Although immigration enforcement has been less visible in recent months than it was during December's Operation Buckeye, local attorneys and advocates say ICE never stopped operating in central Ohio. Now, with work authorization expiring for many Haitian immigrants, they worry the community could face another period of heightened enforcement and arrests.
Columbus Haitians face fear, uncertainty
Marc FeQuiere, executive director of the Ohio Haitian Community Network, said his phone has been ringing constantly as community members search for answers.
"People are scared," FeQuiere said. "I got people calling me today just to tell me that they're afraid. They don't know what to do."
For many, he said, the uncertainty stretches far beyond employment.
"It's more like you're in a dream and you had this life and everything was going just fine and then it's just being taken away from you," FeQuiere said.
FeQuiere said some Haitians have already lost their jobs and driving privileges because of the end of work authorization. Others have decided not to leave home at all, fearing they could encounter immigration authorities.
"We are in the unknown," FeQuiere said. "Some people already made the decision not to be on the street, not to be outside."
Some employers, he said, are still reviewing employees' immigration status before deciding whether they can continue working, while others have already begun telling workers not to return.
"We're anticipating that most of them will start letting people go in the next few days," FeQuiere said.
'Operation Buckeye' started 'SOS mode' for attorneys, immigrants
In December, an increase in ICE activity spurred protests and news headlines in central Ohio. ICE later described the arrests as “Operation Buckeye” in a news release, saying it targeted “the worst of the worst” undocumented immigrants in Columbus and elsewhere in Ohio. The Dispatch was unable to verify the charges described in the release.
During that six-day December stretch, ICE arrested 238 people in the Columbus area, according to a later analysis of federal detention data by the Ohio Immigrant Alliance. The report found that the overwhelming majority of those arrested were classified as immigration violators rather than people with criminal convictions, with only two Columbus arrestees identified as having a violent criminal conviction.
Inna Simakovsky, immigration attorney at Simakovsky Law, said work for immigration attorneys in central Ohio has remained busy ever since.
"I think that was … not really a wakeup call, but I think since that time we have just been in SOS mode," Simakovsky said.
The law firm has revamped its systems to allow it to provide emergency consultations. In the months since December, the law firm has done more work with detainees and more work filing habeas corpus petitions to challenge unlawful detentions.
“It’s not like we’re bracing,” Simakovsky said. “It’s like we are already braced.”
ICE tactics changed, not stopped
Simakovsky said ICE has changed its enforcement strategies in the aftermath of the civil unrest in Minnesota at the beginning of the year. Markwayne Mullin, who took over as the secretary of Homeland Security in March, has sought a quieter, more discreet immigration enforcement strategy.
"They’re not everywhere causing commotion," Simakovsky said. “It’s much more targeted, one at a time … It just feels like it’s quieter and more purposeful, which is both good and bad."
With TPS ending for Haitian immigrants, Simakovsky said central Ohio may see a surge in ICE activity, but it won’t look like the mass arrests in 2025.
“With what happened in Minnesota, there was such backlash, right?” Simakovsky said. “Citizens were completely compelled to get involved. Whereas if you’re picking someone up out there at midnight, and you’re picking one person up, and one person up, and one person up, you can’t have people involved.”
Simakovsky said she used to get text messages from people reporting that they had seen strangers being arrested. The text messages she gets now tend to come from people who directly know someone who was arrested.
Lynn Tramonte, executive director of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance, said ICE has been more active in Ohio in recent weeks, but she agreed that ICE appears to have shifted to a more discreet enforcement strategy.
“We have seen an uptick over the past few weeks and it’s alarming,” Tramonte said.
Tramonte said she has seen news reports suggesting ICE will “surge” in Ohio, but she wonders whether officials may be seeking to intimidate Haitians.
“I know they also want to use the fear and intimidation factors to get people to leave on their own,” Tramonte said. “That is incredibly cruel.”
Advocates call for more protection
FeQuiere said local organizations have spent months preparing for this moment.
Working alongside city agencies and other nonprofit organizations, the Ohio Haitian Community Network has assembled emergency support efforts that include food boxes, toiletries, transportation assistance and financial aid for families suddenly without income.
"Our focus is housing, transportation, health care and making sure people have food to eat," he said.
The organization is also seeking donations for bus passes and emergency assistance for families who can no longer legally drive but still need transportation to schools, medical appointments and other essential services.
The Ohio Immigrant Alliance has also created the Ohio Immigrant Hotline, which Ohioans can call to ask questions, report ICE sightings and abuse, or find or offer help. Callers can reach the hotline at 419-777-4357 in English, French, Spanish and Arabic or email hotline@ohioimmigrant.org.
People who want to help immigrants can also find local groups to join at ohioishome.org or donate to the Detained Immigrants Commissary Fund, Tramonte said.
Public safety and breaking news reporter Bailey Gallion can be reached at bagallion@dispatch.com.
Trending reporter Amani Bayo can be reached at abayo@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio immigration attorneys, advocates ready for potential ICE surge as TPS ends
