SPRINGFIELD — Community members gathered on Monday night to discuss ways to keep families together as the end of Temporary Protected Status for Haitian immigrants approaches.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 11:00, the NAACP Springfield Branch hosted the town hall at the First Baptist Church to discuss what the Haitian community needs to feel supported.
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“This was an important time to have this meeting with everyone. It is getting very scary,” President of the NAACP Springfield Branch Denise Williams said.
As previously reported by News Center 7, the Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) terminated the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians currently living in the United States in June.
The TPS designation for Haiti ends on August 3, 2025, and termination will be effective on September 2, 2025.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said the environmental situation in Haiti has improved enough for Haitian citizens to safely return home.
Haitian Support Center Executive Director Viles Dorsainvil said the Haitian community in Springfield fears the unknown.
“We just do not know how they are operating and the people they’re after, anybody can be a victim,” Dorsainvil said.
One of the many things that they discussed in tonight’s meeting was birthright citizenship.
St Vincent De Paul representative Casey Rollins said they are raising money to help Haitian children get passports.
“1,217 Haitian children under the age of 4 in Springfield they are working to get them birthright citizenship,” Rollins said.
Marsha Norris attended the meeting. She is most concerned about the children.
“I think the children need to be protected. I hate the idea of them being separated from their parents,” Norris said.
Leaders talked about creating an emergency contact list.
This sheet will help people know who to call if there’s a raid.
Mark Muhammad spoke at the meeting.
He wants to set up an in-person meeting with the Columbus sector of Homeland Security.
“They’re doing their job. We want to know exactly what their rules of engagement are, so that we can make sure that we inform our citizenry,” Muhammad said.
There will be another meeting in the first week of August.
Organizers said that by then, they hope to have more information about this process.
News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.
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