ICE to begin operation targeting 300K+ Haitian migrants losing TPS status

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to dramatically ramp up operations to locate and arrest Haitian nationals whose Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is expected to end imminently, multiple federal sources told Fox News.

The expanded operation is expected to begin as soon as this week.

The Supreme Court’s certified judgment is expected to be transmitted to the lower courts Monday, clearing the way for the Trump administration to proceed with ending TPS for more than 300,000 Haitians.

Federal sources told Fox News that Ohio will be heavily targeted because Springfield, Ohio, has a large Haitian population. ICE leadership has been notified of the operational plans, the sources said.

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Last month, the Supreme Court reversed lower-court judgments that had postponed the administration’s TPS terminations for Haiti and Syria while litigation continued.

TPS was first granted to Haiti following the country’s devastating 2010 earthquake. The designation allows eligible foreign nationals from countries experiencing armed conflict, natural disasters or other extraordinary conditions to temporarily live and work legally in the United States.

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The anticipated enforcement operation follows the Trump administration’s long-running effort to end Haiti’s TPS designation, arguing that the program was never intended to become a permanent form of legal status.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson called the ruling “a tremendous win” for the administration.

“Today, the Supreme Court affirmed what President Trump has always maintained: temporary protected status is, by definition, temporary. It was never intended to be a pathway to permanent status or legal residency,” Jackson told Fox News Digital. “The Trump Administration continues to lawfully end the egregious abuses to our immigration system that have hurt Americans for years.”

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) General Counsel James Percival also praised the ruling in a post on X.

“The Court vindicates DHS yet again,” Percival wrote. “The T in TPS stands for TEMPORARY, yet many of these designations became de facto amnesty. This is a win for the rule of law and common sense.”

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The anticipated enforcement operation comes as Springfield remains a focal point in the national immigration debate after the rapid growth of its Haitian community thrust the Ohio city into the national spotlight during the 2024 presidential campaign.

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Fox News has reached out to ICE and DHS for comment on the anticipated enforcement operation.

Fox News Digital’s Alex Koch and Robert McGreevy contributed to this report.