Anxiety among Haitians in Ohio has intensified as the federal government has begun flying people who lost protected status back to their troubled Caribbean home country. These deportations coincide with reports from the International Rescue Committee (IRC) that attacks are spreading across Haiti, particularly impacting communities outside the capital.
Last week, the International Rescue Committee reported that Kenscoff, a farming community located approximately 12 miles south of Port-au-Prince, has been devastated by recent violence. This surge in attacks led to 50 kidnappings and at least 47 deaths, according to the aid group. The IRC warned in a written statement that this reflects "an escalating, deadly pattern for civilians" as gangs expand their territory beyond the capital and destabilize surrounding areas. Mwiti Mungania, the International Rescue Committee’s Country Director for Haiti, stated that communities in Haiti, including Kenscoff, are facing "a cycle of unimaginable violence." Mungania emphasized that the ongoing displacement and loss of loved ones and safety take a severe toll. The IRC is collaborating with its local partner, Organisation Féministe Marijàn, to expand critical protection services and provide cash assistance to communities affected by this latest wave of violence.
Gangs already control the majority of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and are reportedly expanding their influence into other parts of the country through murder, kidnapping, and sexual violence, including against children. Mungania noted that IRC staff and partners regularly hear reports of kidnapping, forced recruitment, and sexual violence, highlighting the essential role of their protection interventions in helping people achieve psychological safety and stability.
Simultaneously, Haitians in Springfield and other areas have started to face deportation after losing their temporary protected status (TPS) on July 27. Sylvan Foley, a spokesperson for the International Rescue Committee, confirmed in an email that there have been at least three deportation flights of Haitian nationals who previously held TPS. Foley reported that these individuals are arriving in Cap-Haïtien, in the northern part of the country, which is a relatively stable area compared to Port-au-Prince. However, the IRC is closely monitoring the situation because many of those who fled were originally from Port-au-Prince and other highly insecure regions and may attempt to return to those areas to reconnect with family or a sense of home.
Since August, former holders of protected status have been called in by immigration officials and fitted with electronic ankle monitors. Immigrant advocates report that the humiliation of wearing such devices, combined with the terrifying prospect of returning to a dangerous and dysfunctional Haiti, is causing immense fear. The family of Pierre Damas Bel, a 20-year-old Wright State University student, stated that he had been harassed by other students about his ankle monitor before he died on August 31, when he walked in front of a tractor-trailer on Interstate 70.
Haitians in Ohio and elsewhere initially received protected status following a devastating earthquake in 2010. Conditions in their home country have deteriorated further since then. The incoming Trump administration cancelled most aid to Haiti in January 2025. Subsequently, it terminated Haitians’ protected status without making a determination that it was safe for people to return, a requirement under the law creating protected status. However, in a split decision in June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that courts cannot review such actions.
Allie Pasieka, the International Rescue Committee’s Deputy Director of Programs in Haiti, told the Capital Journal last month that the violence and displacement are occurring in a country where more than half the population cannot get enough to eat. Pasieka added that the additional violence makes it even more difficult to address these existing humanitarian problems. The recent events in Kenscoff, the IRC warns, only intensify the fears of those facing deportation back to Haiti.