Protest in support of Haitians in Springfield

From a June 25, 2026, report published to the WBNS website

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While local media in Ohio cover the human cost of ending TPS for Haitians, right-wing media celebrate and lob racist smears

Written by Isabella Sherk & Casey Wexler

Published

After the Supreme Court ruled last week that the Trump administration has power to revoke temporary protected status for hundreds of thousands of Haitians living in the United States, local media in Ohio — which became a focal point for the Trump-Vance campaign’s anti-immigrant attacks in 2024 — emphasized the humanity of Haitian immigrants, their importance to their communities, the potential splitting of families, and the risks of returning to a dangerous country where they have no support system. Meanwhile, right-wing media cheered the court ruling, suggesting “dogs and cats in Ohio are celebrating” the decision and telling immigrants to “go back to fucking Haiti.”

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  • Thousands of Haitians have been legal residents in the United States for years under TPS, which was extended due to prolonged instability in Haiti

    • Temporary protected status, commonly known as TPS, grants legal protections to fully vetted migrants who cannot return safely to their home countries because of natural disasters, armed conflicts, and other extraordinary conditions. Haiti was initially put on the list of qualifying countries in 2010 following a devastating earthquake. Mother Jones’ Sarah Szilagy wrote that the earthquake “created the circumstances for subsequent prolonged food insecurity, rising gang violence, and deteriorating access to medical care.” [NPR, 6/25/26; Mother Jones, 6/12/26]
    • On June 25, the Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump is allowed to end temporary protected status for Haitians and Syrians. The court also rejected the claim that the decision to remove them from the U.S. was based on racial prejudice. Trump has repeatedly referred to Haiti as a “shithole country.” [NPR, 6/5/26]
    • The influx of Haitian migrants into Springfield, Ohio, has helped the previously declining city grow economically. The New York Times wrote that Haitians are “easing labor shortage and fueling economic growth” in a city that had been “in decline for decades.” Springfield became a target of Trump's during the 2024 presidential election when he falsely claimed Haitians there were eating cats and dogs. [The New York Times, 6/29/26]
    • After the June 25 ruling, Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine denounced the decision, saying it “means that while these Haitians were working and contributing to our community and economy yesterday, today it is now illegal to employ them.” In a CNN interview, DeWine continued to defend Haitians and argue against the renunciation of TPS, noting that “Haiti is still a very dangerous place.” “It's Haitians who many times are taking care of your mom or your dad who has Alzheimer's, taking care of family members who might be in a nursing home,” DeWine told State of the Union host Jake Tapper. “And to say we're going to pull all those out, it's just not in our own self-interest.” [The Daily Advocate, 6/26/26; The Columbus Dispatch, 6/28/26]

  • Ohio media covered the danger of deporting people who have become vital community members

    • The Springfield News Sun reported on longtime locals calling the ruling “horrible,” including one 50-year resident who said of the Haitian community, “This city was dead. They’ve brought this city back to life.” [The Springfield News Sun, 6/25/26]
    • Columbus’ WCMH wrote about the impact on Haitian parents of American citizens and the children's options being separation from their parents or deportation with them. Immigration attorney Lilia Khordj said, “U.S. citizens could or may have to go live with their parents in the different countries and risk also torture, death and many other cruel, unfortunate events.” [WCMH, 6/25/26]
    • Hosts of the Today in Ohio podcast wrote an article titled “US Supreme Court gave Donald Trump a license to send thousands of Ohio Haitians to their deaths.” The hosts wrote that “tens of thousands of Haitian immigrants have built lives, filled jobs, bought homes, and become pillars of their Ohio communities,” and deporting them is both deeply unpopular and dangerous. [Cleveland.com, 6/26/26]
    • The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio Capital Journal, and WYSO each included quotes from TPS recipient and executive director of Springfield's Haitian Support Center Vilès Dorsainvil, who discussed the Haitian community's fears and concerns. Dorsainvil discussed the fear that “employers will terminate workers," and the fact that “many Haitian families built lives in the United States and may no longer have relatives or support systems waiting for them in Haiti.” Dorsainvil said of potential ICE raids in Springfield, “We maybe we can try to navigate this together, but that won’t prevent ICE to deport folks, that won’t prevent ICE to separate families, and we know a lot of things awaiting us now that we will have to make sure that we are ready for this.” [WYSO, 6/25/26; The Columbus Dispatch, 6/25/26; The Ohio Capital Journal, 6/25/26]
    • WHIO quoted Springfield Mayor Rob Rue, who said members of the Haitian community “contribute to our local economy, support our schools, strengthen our neighborhoods and have become part of the fabric of Springfield.” Reporter John Bedell also included interviews with local Debbie Keeton, who said of Haitian immigrants, “I don’t think they should take them away. It’s not very good in their country,” and Amy Brown, who said, “If they need to be here to have that fresher start, let them stay. Let them try to take and have the freedom that some of these other countries don’t allow them to have.” [WHIO, 6/25/26]
    • The Springfield News-Sun quoted Springfield Pastor Carl Ruby in the headline “‘This is a decision that will cost people their lives’: Supreme Court clears way for detention, removal of Haitians.” The report continued, “Ruby said many Haitians in the Springfield area are going to need immediate help with housing, food, legal fees and other essential costs because they are going to lose their work authorization, drivers’ licenses and other privileges.” [The Springfield News-Sun, 6/25/26]
    • 10TV aired a piece on a protest held in support of Springfield’s Haitian community including an interview with Obed Lafaille, a father of three who has been a TPS resident for two years. “We are very affected by this decision,” he said. “Haiti is not yet safe for us to return.” [WBNS, 6/25/26]
    • The Dayton Daily News also covered the protest including a speech by community organizer Biassu Pierre, who said, “Today, many people call me, ask me, ‘How will I feed my children if I lose my job because I don’t have TPS? What will happen to my family if I get detained by ICE?’” Advocates for Basic Legal Equality attorney Kathleen Kersh said, “These individuals followed the law and the law abandoned them.” [Dayton Daily News, 6/26/26]

  • Right-wing media celebrated sending Haitians back to a “voodoo-cursed island that has been absolutely awful, effectively hell on Earth”

    • SiriusXM host Megyn Kelly: “We don't want you. We don't care if you're offended. Get out. Go home. Go back to fucking Haiti.” She insisted, “We know our country's better than yours. That's because we filled it with our work ethic and our culture and our values. You being here only dilutes it for us, those who built it and live it. And half of you people, more than half, you won't assimilate.” Kelly claimed that, “They take advantage of all of our public services and our systems, and they're not respectful in many cases of their neighbors.” She later claimed that Americans hate the Haitians in their community, despite local reporting to the contrary. [SiriusXM, The Megyn Kelly Show, 6/25/26, 6/29/26]
    • Fox News host Jesse Watters said Haitians are part of a plot to “overthrow the country.” He said Democrats make money off Haitians: “The Haitians have babies, they become American citizens. They're cheap labor. That's what this is all about. They want to overthrow the country and we caught them and they're going home. I'm not feeling that bad about it.” [Fox News, The Five, 6/26/26]
    • War Room host and former Trump strategist Steve Bannon asked his guest, “Are we right to say that the dogs and cats in Ohio are celebrating this afternoon, sir?” Days later, Bannon complained that there is “no sense of urgency” in deporting Haitians: “You see what happened on the Supreme Court? Why are we not prepared — why are we not shipping out Haitians starting Friday evening or all day Saturday and all day Sunday? Where are the buses, where are planes?” [Real America's Voice, War Room, 6/25/26, 6/29/26]
    • Fox host Laura Ingraham said temporary protected status is a “total scam.” She said that under former President Joe Biden, a “once-limited humanitarian program was abused to become another effort to simply flood America with Third World migrants.” [Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, 6/25/26]
    • The Daily Wire's Michael Knowles said that “Haiti is a voodoo-cursed island that has been absolutely awful, effectively hell on Earth since Toussaint's voodoo slave rebellion,” adding, “Haitians need to go back to Haiti.” He said, “So there's no double standard, there's no hypocrisy in the State Department discouraging Americans from going on vacation to Haiti and the White House saying the Haitians need to go back to Haiti. Haiti is for the Haitians. And what is implied in this argument is America is not for all the Haitians — any Haitian who wants to come here.” [The Daily Wire, The Michael Knowles Show, 6/26/26]