In a significant development, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is gearing up to intensively search for and detain Haitian nationals poised to lose their Temporary Protected Status (TPS). This decision, shared with Fox News by numerous federal insiders, marks a dramatic escalation in operations.
Plans for this expanded operation could kick off as early as this week, signaling a robust federal response.
The pathway for this enforcement action is being cleared by the Supreme Court, which is set to send down its certified judgment to the lower courts on Monday. This move will empower the Trump administration to terminate TPS protections for over 300,000 Haitian individuals.
Federal sources revealed to Fox News that Ohio is expected to be a prominent focus of this operation, primarily because of Springfield’s substantial Haitian community. These operational tactics have been communicated to ICE leadership, ensuring that the agency is fully informed of the plans.
A broad ICE crackdown targeting Haitian migrants who are facing the imminent termination of their Temporary Protected Status can be initiated this week, Fox News has reported. (Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images)
Last month, the Supreme Court reversed lower-court judgments that had postponed the administration’s TPS terminations for Haiti and Syria while litigation continued.
TPS was first granted to Haiti following the country’s devastating 2010 earthquake. The designation allows eligible foreign nationals from countries experiencing armed conflict, natural disasters or other extraordinary conditions to temporarily live and work legally in the United States.
The anticipated operation follows the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to end Haiti’s TPS designation. (Jaque Silva/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The anticipated enforcement operation follows the Trump administration’s long-running effort to end Haiti’s TPS designation, arguing that the program was never intended to become a permanent form of legal status.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson called the ruling “a tremendous win” for the administration.
“Today, the Supreme Court affirmed what President Trump has always maintained: temporary protected status is, by definition, temporary. It was never intended to be a pathway to permanent status or legal residency,” Jackson told News Media. “The Trump Administration continues to lawfully end the egregious abuses to our immigration system that have hurt Americans for years.”
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) General Counsel James Percival also praised the ruling in a post on X.
“The Court vindicates DHS yet again,” Percival wrote. “The T in TPS stands for TEMPORARY, yet many of these designations became de facto amnesty. This is a win for the rule of law and common sense.”
The anticipated enforcement operation comes as Springfield remains a focal point in the national immigration debate after the rapid growth of its Haitian community thrust the Ohio city into the national spotlight during the 2024 presidential campaign.