Fearing deportation, some Haitian migrants leaving Springfield, Ohio

Springfield, Ohio — Ketlie Moise fled unspeakable violence in her homeland of Haiti hoping to find peace and a slice of the American dream, settling in Springfield, Ohio.

“I stay here,” Moise told CBS News. “I do two jobs to make my business. That’s why I don’t go back to Haiti.” 

Moise saved money for years and recently opened a restaurant. She is one of the thousands of Haitian migrants building a life in Springfield who now find themselves in the crosshairs of the incoming Trump administration. About 12,000 to 15,000 Haitians reside in the Springfield area, according to city estimates.  

It was during President-elect Donald Trump’s Sept. 10 debate with Vice President Kamala Harris that Springfield came to forefront, when Trump repeated false and debunked claims about the Haitian migrants living there. Local officials have said there are no credible reports to back up such allegations.

Trump made the issue of mass deportations a major pillar of his presidential campaign.

“We’re going to have the largest deportation in the history of our country, and we’re going to start with Springfield and Aurora,” Trump told reporters on Sept. 13, referring to Aurora, Colorado, another city Trump has attempted to spotlight.

He announced last week would be tapping Tom Homan — who served as acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during his first term — as his so-called “border czar” to oversee that process.

Moise, like most fellow Haitians in Springfield, is here legally through Temporary Protected Status, which Trump has vowed to end. The TPS program allows federal officials to grant deportation relief and work authorization to migrants from countries beset by war, environmental disaster or another “extraordinary” crisis.

Moise says she knows about 10 friends and neighbors who have recently left Springfield, along with several restaurant employees. 

She said she also learned while in Springfield that her mother was fatally shot at their family’s business in Haiti. 

“I’m scared because my business in Haiti was bombed, I lost my mom,” Moise told CBS News. “Someone come in the business, they shoot my mom with a gun, bomb my business…If I get deportation to go back to Haiti, for me especially, I’m going to die, I’m going to be dead.”

Moise’s own daughter is among those who have left Springfield. Moise said that when her daughter told her she wanted to leave, she considered joining her.  

“Yes, I keep thinking about that. I don’t know where I gonna go, but I keep thinking about that,” Moise said.

Faith is fueling Moise’s motivation to remain in Springfield and run her restaurant, while her business and her future hang in the balance.

“We’re hoping that everything works out the way it’s supposed to work out,” she said. “God has a way of working everything out.”

contributed to this report.

Nicole Valdes

Nicole Valdes is a correspondent based in Nashville. Valdes was most recently a weather correspondent with FOX Weather. Since joining FOX Weather in 2021, Valdes covered breaking and developing weather-related news for the streaming service. Valdes reported from nearly 40 states, leading network coverage of Hurricane Ian’s impact on Florida, as well as countless tornadoes, flood, and wildfires. As a proud bilingual journalist, Valdes put her skills forward to produce and report an in-depth piece on Hurricane Maria’s impact to Puerto Rico. Prior to this role, Valdes worked as a reporter and fill-in anchor in Phoenix, Arizona, where she led the station’s coverage of the 2020 Presidential election. She was also a multimedia journalist for the CBS-affiliate in Fort Myers, Florida. Valdes graduated from the University of Florida in Gainesville.