The Trump administration's termination of Temporary Protected Status for roughly 350,000 Haitian nationals officially took effect August 3, and ICE has already begun ramping up enforcement — starting with a wave of check-in appointments in Ohio where officers are fitting Haitian immigrants with ankle monitors.

Immigration attorneys say the monitoring appears concentrated in Springfield, Ohio, a city that became a national flashpoint in 2024 after false claims about Haitian immigrants circulated during the campaign. Hundreds of Haitians who previously held TPS have been summoned to in-person check-ins with federal officers, according to The Washington Post, with a half-dozen advocates and lawyers confirming the practice.

"It's closing time"

DHS General Counsel James Percival has defended the crackdown bluntly, telling reporters: "Temporary Protected Status is exactly that — temporary... What we would say now is it's closing time, which means you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here," a comment covered in CNN's reporting on Haitians bracing for the TPS wind-down.

IT'S CLOSING TIME — YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO HOME, BUT YOU CAN'T STAY HERE

ICE is separately preparing a broader operation aimed at arresting and deporting Haitian migrants nationwide following the Supreme Court ruling that cleared the way for TPS termination, according to Fox News, with plans reportedly including expedited deportation flights direct to Haiti — a country the State Department has continued to warn Americans against traveling to due to gang violence and political instability.

Immigrant rights groups argue the ankle-monitor rollout is designed to track and quickly locate people for removal once deportation flights ramp up, while DHS frames the monitors as an alternative to detention. Advocates say many of the Haitians affected have lived and worked legally in the US for years, built families, and have no criminal record, according to WLRN.

What's next

With TPS protections now lapsed, Haitians without another legal status face the prospect of detention or deportation at any check-in. Legal challenges to the TPS termination continue to wind through federal courts, but none have yet paused the wind-down, leaving families in Springfield and other Haitian communities bracing for what comes next.