By Megan Henry
Ohio Capital Journal
COLUMBUS — Nearly 75 Haitians living in Ohio have been detained at one of four Ohio detention facilities that contract with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement since President Trump took away their legal protected status on July 27 — a 142.3% increase, according to a new report.
Springfield ICE Watch reported 74 people detained by ICE from Aug. 7 to Sept. 17, according to a new report by Ohio Immigrant Alliance.
“Only 8% of the Haitians being detained in Springfield have had removal orders,” Springfield ICE Watch said in a statement.
“ICE has been most often seen in Springfield doing traffic stops in the middle of the road while people are on their way to or from work, or in the parking lots of apartment complexes with high immigrant populations, grocery stores, and gas stations.”
The report looked at the roster of four ICE detention facilities in Ohio: Butler County Jail in Hamilton, Mahoning County Justice Center in Youngstown, Seneca County Jail in Tiffin, and Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio in Stryker.
There are two ICE detention facilities in Ohio — the Geauga County Safety Center in Chardon and the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center in Youngstown, but they do not publish their rosters publicly and therefore weren’t included in Ohio Immigrant Alliance’s report.
There were 26 Haitians booked in Butler County Jail, Mahoning County Justice Center, Seneca County Jail, and Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio prior to TPS ending, from Jan. 1 to July 26, according to the report.
At least 445 people were booked into those four ICE detention facilities between July 27 and Aug. 31, according to the report. Of those, 239 were Latin American and 62 were Haitian.
More Haitians are now being detained by ICE after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled at the end of June that President Donald Trump could end temporary protected status for the 330,000 Haitians who’ve fled the violence in their home country. Legal protected status officially ended for Haitians on July 27.
About 15,000 Haitians live in Springfield, with a mixture of temporary protected status, citizenship, and other legal status.
Butler County Jail, which had 1,078 people as of Friday morning, held 44 Haitian people between July 27 and Aug. 31.
The general housing capacity for Butler County Jail is 844, even though the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction recommends 756 as the housing capacity, according to a 2025 ODRC inspection report.
Erik Crew, a staff attorney at Haitian Bridge Alliance, said he interviewed 15 Haitians who were detained by ICE and held at the Butler County Jail.
“None had criminal records,” he said in a statement. “All entered the U.S. with its authorization, all had active and valid work authorization, and all had done everything the U.S. had asked.”
Springfield Pastor Gilbert Joubert Adrien was recently released from Butler County Jail after beingdetained by ICE in August.
Haitian Support Center Executive Director Viles Dorsainvil said Adrien used his time detained to minister to other people in jail.
“He told us that he was a source of consolation for other detainees,” Dorsainvil said.
ICE is starting to use the smartphone app SmartLINK to track Haitian in Springfield and seems to be phasing out ankle monitors, Dorsainvil said.
Haitians living in Springfield have been receiving letters requiring them to report to the ICE offices in Blue Ash or Westerville to accept ankle monitors after TPS ended.
There are hundreds of Haitians in Springfield with ankle monitors, Dorsainvil said.
“We don’t know what is going to happen, but what we’ve seen so far is the relief of the ankle monitors,” Dorsainvil said.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said ICE evaluates those enrolled in the Alternatives to Detention program on a “case-by-case basis to determine the appropriate level of supervision and technology.”
“Decisions about enrollment, electronic monitoring, and any escalation or de-escalation of supervision are made by career law enforcement officers after reviewing relevant factors, including immigration status, criminal history, compliance history, and humanitarian or medical considerations,” the spokesperson said in an email.
“(Alternatives to Detention) uses a continuum of technology and case management tools, including SmartLINK and GPS monitoring, to provide varying levels of supervision based on the alien’s individual circumstances. ATD technology is not assigned based on nationality.”
Pierre Damas Bel, a 20-year-old Wright State University student, died in an apparent suicide last month, which his family said happened after he was forced to wear an ankle monitor by ICE.
Many advocates have been calling on to ICE to stop using the ankle monitors.
“We don’t know if (the ankle monitors) will come back,” Dorsainvil said. “What we all have to do is to continue to raise our concerns.”
ICE raids are continuing to happen in Springfield and a doctor recently told Dorsainvil that ICE picked up two people in his parking lot.
“They don’t have the freedom even to seek medical help,” Dorsainvil said.
Dorsainvil shared how a Haitian woman recently went to an ICE check-in with her two-month-old baby and they kept the mother, but ICE gave the baby back to the woman’s driver.
“The woman didn’t even know the driver very well,” Dorsainvil said. “The driver came back to the (Haitian Support) Center with the baby, and we were able to locate the father.”
The Ohio Immigrant Alliance report also said more than 90 immigrant students from preschool to high school have missed school for weeks “due to ICE’s presence and parents’ concerns for safety.”
“Some parents we know are keeping their children at home,” Dorsainvil said.
“We’re having a conversation with some parents who received letters already because the kids are not showing up at school. So we are asking them to start a conversation with the school just to tell them about the situation.”
Springfield City Schools did not respond to the Ohio Capital Journal’s request for comment.
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