‘It’s just so wrong’: Haitians in Ohio reel from supreme court TPS ruling

T he embattled Haitian community of Springfield, Ohio is among many groups reeling after this week’s ruling from the supreme court that strips the legal immigration status from hundreds of thousands of Haitians living and working in the US – and could be a threat to more than a million. The Springfield community in particular had worked hard to remain resilient beyond the outrageous besmirching by Donald Trump during the 2024 election campaign and further insults about Haiti delivered after he became the US president again. Now it has been rocked to its foundation and is in existential fear because of court rulings on Thursday favoring the Trump administration that critics denounced as “advancing a white supremacist agenda”. Just two weeks ago, many Haitians living in the small city between Dayton and Columbus were in buoyant mood and filled with hope, lifted by national sporting ambitions. About 35 people had packed inside the small Keket restaurant to watch their national soccer team take on Scotland in the country’s first World Cup game for more than five decades. Two small TVs attached to speakers were set up on one side of the room. There were children and several women, but a majority were young men. People exchanged greetings in Haitian creole. Beyond the counter, another half a dozen restaurant workers served food and huddled around a tiny screen watching the game. Despite losing 1-0, the mood at Keket was jubilant. …