BLUE ASH, OH – Several Haitian residents reported to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in suburban Cincinnati on Sunday, Aug. 2, and at least two people were given ankle monitors.
Many Haitians who reside in Ohio have received “call-in letters” from the Department of Homeland Security in the last two weeks after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowed the Trump administration to end their legal immigration status.
Between 7:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Sunday, The Enquirer saw four people go into the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations field office in Blue Ash for appointments and three people exit.
Samantha Searles, who works with Ignite Peace, a Cincinnati-based organization that advocates for peace and justice, said five or six Haitian residents entered the office as of 10 a.m. Searles said residents had received call-in letters for appointments until 2 p.m.
Philbert Viaud, a Haitian resident of Columbus, left the office with an ankle monitor. Viaud said ICE officials transferred his information to a field office near Columbus and told him to go there for an appointment on Aug. 12. He said he has been applying for asylum for the past four years.
Sony Prenice, a Haitian resident, told reporters she was given the option to either wear an ankle monitor or be deported with $2,600.
She chose the ankle monitor, which restricts her to a 75-mile radius around her address. To go beyond that, she must call ICE for permission.
Annette Huelskamp, who interpreted for Prenice, said Prenice is concerned about what the ankle monitor means for visiting her family in Indiana or in case of a medical emergency, as she is diabetic.
Carl Ruby, the senior pastor with Central Christian Church in Springfield, came to the office with a member of his congregation who was called in for an appointment.
Ruby waited outside the front entrance for his congregant to come back outside.
“I want the ICE agents to look out and see me praying,” he said.
‘You put my house on fire’
Viles Dorsainvil, executive director of the Haitian Community Help and Support Center in Springfield, said he saw the ankle monitors Haitian residents were given as reminiscent of chains and slavery.
“They don’t want us to be here and now they try to put us in chains as if we did something wrong,” he said.
Dorsainvil said he received a call recently from an American man asking Haitians to go back to their country and he tried to explain the effects of American policies in Haiti. He referenced the U.S. occupation of Haiti until 1934 and the constitution the U.S. forced on Haiti.
“The American people have to know that if we are here, it is because that the foreign policies of those big countries have failed our country and make it a hell for us,” he said. “If you put my house on fire, you would have to expect that I would come to your yard.”
What is temporary protected status?
The Trump administration ended temporary protected status, or TPS, in November 2025. Many of the estimated 15,000 Haitians living in Springfield were here under temporary protected status.
TPS is granted to immigrants from countries facing conditions such as natural disasters or armed conflict. The State Department continues to advise Americans against traveling to Haiti, citing “crime, terrorism, kidnapping, unrest and limited health care.”
Miranda Hallett with the Miami Valley Immigration Coalition researches TPS as part of her work with the Human Rights Center at the University of Dayton. She said it’s “cruel” to end TPS so abruptly, leaving Haitians in the United States with few paths to legal residency.
Hallett said the coalition has been providing legal aid to Haitians in Springfield for years. She said lawyers typically do not go to appointments with the ICE field office, but community volunteers are sometimes allowed in to witness. It’s up to the discretion of the office, she said.
“People without secure status have been detained when they come to call-in appointments which is why it’s so terrifying for people to lose TPS” she said.
Protestors line up outside ICE office
Roughly 550 people came to protest ICE, according to organizers with Ignite Peace.
Protesters held signs that said “Keep TPS,” “Let Haitians Stay” and “Melt ICE.” They sang “This Land Is Your Land” and applauded as people entered and exited the ICE field office.
Regional politics reporter Erin Glynn can be reached at eglynn@enquirer.com, @ee_glynn on X and @eringlynn on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Haitian immigrants report to Ohio ICE office, exit with ankle monitors
Reporting by Erin Glynn, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Erin Glynn, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
