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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHaitian immigrants flee Springfield, Ohio, in droves after Trump election win
From a tiny office behind a Haitian grocery store on Springfields South Limestone Street, Margery Koveleski has spent years helping local Haitians overcome bureaucratic red tape to make their lives in the Ohio city a little bit easier.
But Koveleski whose family is Haitian has noticed a major change recently.
Haitians are now coming to her to figure out how to leave.
Some folks dont have credit cards or access to the internet, and they want to buy a bus ticket or a plane ticket, so we help them book a flight, she told the Guardian recently. People are leaving.
Koveleski, leaders in Springfields Haitian community, and others have relayed reports of Haitians fleeing the city of 60,000 people in recent days for fear of being rounded up and deported after Donald Trumps victory in the 5 November presidential election.
The owner of one store is wondering if he should move back to New York or to Chicago he says his business is way down, Koveleski remarked.
Trump has repeatedly said he would end immigrants temporary protected status (TPS) the provision through which many Haitians are legally allowed to live and work in the US and deport Haitians from Springfield once in office.
For many, the threats are real.
A sheriff in Sidney, a town 40 miles (64km) north-west of Springfield that is home to several dozen Haitian immigrants, allegedly told local police in September to get a hold of these people and arrest them.
Bring them Ill figure out if theyre legal, he said, referencing Haitian immigrants in the area.
As Jacob Payen, a co-founder of the Haitian Community Alliance who runs a business that includes helping Haitians in Springfield to file tax returns, said: People are fully aware of the election result, and that is why they are leaving; they are afraid of a mass deportation.
Several of my customers have left. One guy with his family went to New Jersey; others have gone to Boston. I know three families that have gone to Canada.
More
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/17/haitian-immigrants-springfield-ohio-trump-election
CaliforniaPeggy
(152,069 posts)TFG is the one that needs deporting. How infuriating his actions are, and they will only get worse.
Really pisses me off!
Diamond_Dog
(34,613 posts)And our spineless Gov does and says nothing
B.See
(3,583 posts)haele
(13,520 posts)And half their tax base.
Hey Sheriff "I'll figure out who's here legally or not". How are you going to like losing a quarter to half your budget next financial planning go-round?
And he's probably not going to admit in his tiny hate filled mind that he and his type are playing a large part in the future economic death of his relatively rural county.
The Factory owners have already told you they either can't and don't want to hire half your white "working class" high school graduates due to attitude problems. Those immigrants are keeping your small towns alive.
Haele
Diamond_Dog
(34,613 posts)MichMan
(13,160 posts)Both have already indicated they won't cooperate with ICE.
LisaL
(46,601 posts)MAGA don't seem to care if an immigrant is documented or not.
MichMan
(13,160 posts)LiberalArkie
(16,497 posts)COL Mustard
(6,883 posts)That's where I would head, if I needed to.
enough
(13,454 posts)Doodley
(10,360 posts)duhneece
(4,238 posts)Yet another group of people to cry for.
Better Days Ahoy
(706 posts)Massachusetts
Norbert
(6,526 posts)Not so much DeWine. He gets it but does not have the backbone to stand up to trump.
Ohio is going to get a lot worse before it ever gets better.
liberalhistorian
(20,846 posts)and now am fortunate enough to live in Minnesota. My ASD son and elderly mother still live in Ohio and hubby and I are bringing them here to live with us as soon as the family home in Ohio is sold. We'd planned to make that move next summer, but have moved up that timeline as I want them out of Ohio ASAP.
And I've told other family that this Christmas is the last time I'll travel to Ohio; I refuse to travel to a red state after the inauguration. I just don't trust it, especially having Minnesota license plates.
Evolve Dammit
(18,603 posts)Libloom
(35 posts)They dont have any faith in the Democratic party, she said. Some believe that if Donald Trump says, leave Haiti alone, hes going to leave us alone.
mountain grammy
(27,271 posts)but we all know that's not really the issue now is it? This is awful.
FightFight
(101 posts)The White Ethno State believes it is better to have a dead town than a bustling one made by hard working black people
It reminds me of all the people who said obamacare was different from the ACA so that they wouldnt have to accept health care from President Obama's black hands https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/07/upshot/one-third-dont-know-obamacare-and-affordable-care-act-are-the-same.html
willful ignorance --sincere stupidity
B.See
(3,583 posts)WILLFUL ignorance (and I like that phrase "sincere stupidity).
I remember once reading of some state (don't remember which) that deliberately named the ACA something else, just so their resident HATERS wouldn't think it was a healthcare plan delivered by the despised Black man in the white house.
AlexSFCA
(6,270 posts)this is because of the upcoming executive order that nullifies birthright citizenship. Unfortunately, it is applied retroactively. Meaning children of undocumented immigrants who were born here, would be stripped of citizenship status, much like jews were in nazi Germany. Not to mention enforcement of laws that would incriminate those US citizens who resist and provide safe harbor to undocumented folks. I am least worried about Mexico which has better economic potential compared to many in Latin America so especially english speaking deportees would be able to manage. I would be more concerned about countries with ongoing wars and conflicts - its like sending people to die. Hope Mexico can accept those too. This is a new reality - and I am not so sure that being sent to a concentration camp (aka detention center) is better than self-deportation. Knowing this administration, one can expect total sadists hired as guards for those camps.