ICE Field Office Demonstrations for Haitian immigrants

In response to the many Haitians living in Springfield, Ohio who received letters on Wednesday, July 29  to appear at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office in Blue Ash on Sunday morning, Ignite Peace and the Miami Valley Immigration Coalition will hold vigils outside the ICE office on Sunday, Aug. 2 and Sunday, Aug. 9 at 7:00 AM. 

“We were distressed and dismayed when this administration arbitrarily stripped our Haitian neighbors of their legal safeguard, Temporary Protected Status (TPS), abandoning our country’s promise to them after they bravely moved here seeking a better life,” says Ignite Peace executive director Shannon Hughes. “Just weeks later, it is now attempting to use administrative procedure to covertly disappear people without due process—people who have done everything our country has asked of them to be able to live freely and safely in Springfield. This is calculated cruelty they thought no one would notice…but they were wrong. Ohioans will continue to stand with and for each other, demanding permanent protections for those who come seeking safety.

“Our country made a promise to Haitian people and families, and this administration and the Supreme Court have broken it. Our Haitian neighbors will be killed if they are deported. Families who contribute to our communities and raise children here are now being told the safe haven they were promised was never really safe at all.

“The words emblazoned on the Statue of Liberty don’t come with an asterisk. They don’t list any exceptions. She is called ‘Mother of Exiles.’

“‘From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome…Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…’

“American-born children will be left without their parents. ICE will tear neighbors, coworkers, classmates, and friends from their communities and send them back into the very danger they escaped.”

For the next two Sundays, we will gather to denounce these latest attacks as crimes against human rights and dignity carried out in the name of immigration enforcement, and to call for permanent protections for our neighbors. Concerned community members are invited to peacefully dissent against these cruel and politically motivated attacks, express support for the Haitian and Syrian communities, and advocate for a just and humane immigration system that respects all families, no exceptions.

“Haitian immigrants have come to Ohio in recent decades through humanitarian pathways, and their presence has revitalized the local community, especially contributing to economic recovery in cities like Springfield,” says Dr. Miranda Hallett, a volunteer with the Miami Valley Immigration Coalition. “There’s no reason to uproot them now, and force them into difficult choices about their children and their family’s safety. Even more importantly, this is a human question: how do we treat our neighbor when they are suffering, and displaced?”

“The ongoing crisis in Haiti makes it cruel and inhumane to strip people of legal status, tearing them away from their stable homes, workplaces, and communities to what is basically a state of emergency. Many Haitian families came to southwest Ohio seeking peace and safety for themselves and their families.” 

“Migration is human, and Ohio is home for all of us. A fair immigration policy would provide due process, respect basic human rights, and recognize the longstanding ties and contributions of Ohio’s immigrant families." 

The vigils will bear witness to the harms inflicted on our community by ICE, and expose the systemic causes and human consequences of these violent policies. 

“We must call this immoral action what it is—racist, white supremacist violence,” says Hughes. “Now is the time to speak out. Now is the time for us to come together to support and protect our immigrant neighbors in any way that we can. We must offer community care to the children who will be left behind. We must demand our lawmakers step in and intervene. In the midst of hatred, we will continue to spread love, have faith, advocate for peace, and seek to be a light for others.”

Community members are invited to meet at the corner of Kenwood & Malsbary Road in Blue Ash. We will then peacefully process to the ICE field office. Wear religious garments, pro-immigrant t-shirts, and bring signs/banners with messages advocating for human dignity and alerting the general public to what’s going on in their backyard.