COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine isn't anticipating a surge of immigration enforcement as the Temporary Protected Status for Haitian immigrants expires, and he isn't aware of any federal plans. Still, the Akron-Canton Airport continues to host deportation flights for ICE-affiliated charters.
For two years, the Republican governor has taken the national stage to defend Ohio's Haitian community from misinformation and racism. Since then, he has been urging the Trump Administration and the Department of Homeland Security to change their minds about ending TPS.
"Not wise, that is not a good thing,” DeWine said back in February. “I think it's a mistake.”
About 15,000 Haitian immigrants call Springfield home. As TPS expires, about 50,000 Haitians in Ohio are losing their jobs, being forced to leave or becoming undocumented.
"You have thousands of Haitians who are working, contributing members of the community, contributing to the economy, who one day will be able to work and the next day will then not be able to work,” the governor said.
He is worried about the life they will be forced back into.
"The situation in Haiti is dire as I have ever seen it,” DeWine said. "The gangs are controlling a good part of the country; it’s extremely violent.”
Over the past few weeks, he has expressed his beliefs to Statehouse reporters and gone on national television again to call this decision a mistake.
"I've made myself, I think, pretty clear in regard to the policy and what I think is best for Ohio and best for Springfield," DeWine said in June.
The U.S. Department of State lists Haiti as a country Americans should not travel to, because of the threat of "crime, terrorism and kidnapping" there.
Although there have been rumors in Ohio, DeWine’s team said Tuesday that they have not heard of any potential enforcement surges.
Leaving Ohio
Haitians will be leaving Ohio, likely, by plane — like the ones at Akron-Canton Airport (CAK), captured in photos by our news partners at the Akron Beacon Journal.
ABJ found that more than 130 flights from Eastern Air Express, a charter company that works with federal immigration officials, have landed since late April. These planes were serviced by AvFlight, a private company.
We had received tips about this and brought it up to U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes, a Democrat representing District 13, which includes the airport.
"It's not unusual for the Department of Homeland Security to not clue in people on what they're doing," Sykes said in an interview Tuesday. "It is very clear that they are operating in a way that is unsavory to many Americans, including here in Ohio's 13th District, and pushing forward this mass deportation that is inhumane and really quite cruel."
In a statement, CAK spokesperson Lisa Dalpiaz said that it is a public-use facility that “leases space to a variety of aviation tenants,” who operate independently and are responsible for their own flight activity.
These tenants include fixed base operators who provide services to private aircraft, such as AVFlight, she said.
"We want our airport to continue to operate," Sykes said. "If they were to refuse, they may be shut down by the federal government."
CAK confirmed that they have no role in third-party operations, other than to "maintain safe, efficient airport infrastructure and ensure compliance with all applicable federal aviation regulations."
The airport cannot "legally restrict access to CAK for public or private aircraft operations, including aircraft chartered for federal government purposes," Dalpiaz said.
When asked if they could terminate a lease, Dalpiaz said there are restrictions.
"The Airport can terminate or not lease to any existing tenant if a tenant does not meet the airport’s minimum standards or violates FAA grant assurances; however, Avflight is meeting the standards and is not in violation of the FAA’s grant assurances," the spokesperson said.
Sykes agreed that she was limited in what she could do, but urged Ohioans to call their representatives and demand change. Meanwhile, the organization Ohio Immigrant Alliance plans to hold protests at the airport entrance on Aug. 1 from 10 a.m. to noon.
T for Temporary
This should never have been a surprise, state Rep. Gary Click (R-Vickery) said.
"It's not a permanent immigration policy; It's something that is temporary," Click said in an interview. "We don't want ill will towards anyone... The reality is we can't import another entire culture into our state, and we can't import another people group into our state and allow them to stay here permanently."
When it comes to Haiti still being dangerous, Click said that the immigrants could take back “American values” to the country.
"Maybe they can help improve the status in Haiti by trying to implement and trying to be leaders and saying, 'Let's bring some of those values into our native land, and let's make Haiti great again,'" the Republican said.
The DHS would not confirm to our national team if ICE is already planning to target Haitians for deportation, but in a statement, a spokesperson said that TPS was a quick fix.
“Temporary Protected Status is exactly that—temporary," a spokesperson said, in part. "For too long, TPS has been allowed to function as a de facto amnesty program despite Congress never intending it to be permanent."
Former Ohio Congressman Jim Renacci previously told us that TPS recipients should have already self-deported. He said that the immigration process needs to be reevaluated.
"I think in the end it is good because we do have American workers that need to have jobs, and at the same time, we do need an immigration process that's legal,” Renacci said.
Next steps
It's unclear when the governor would find out if ICE was going to start conducting raids.
I previously asked new Attorney General Andy Wilson how he plans to manage cases in which the governor and President Donald Trump differ, including TPS.
"I was very involved in Springfield, I'm very intimate with the DPS issue," Wilson responded. "It's the current law. I will uphold, support and enforce current law with respect to whatever the political issues."
Ohio will follow said law, despite this being a grave mistake, the Republican governor said.
Follow Statehouse and Columbus bureau reporter Morgan Trau on X, Instagram and Facebook. Email her at Morgan.Trau@wews.com.
