A political rift is emerging inside the GOP over immigration enforcement, and it centers on Ohio.
Governor Mike DeWine, a Republican, stepped forward this week to oppose a looming federal crackdown targeting Haitian migrants in his state.
Speaking with CBS News correspondent Camilo Montoya-Galvez on Monday, DeWine didn’t mince words about the potential fallout.
“It’s a mistake. It’s not good for the United States and it’s not good for the state of Ohio,” DeWine said.
His remarks landed just as federal immigration authorities signaled plans to escalate arrests and removals of Haitian nationals lacking legal status — a shift first detailed in CBS News reporting Monday.
Notably, DeWine claims his own administration was left in the dark about the scale of what’s coming.
“Received no notification,” he said, referring to any communication from ICE regarding the operation.
For its part, The Hill has reached out to ICE seeking clarity on the matter; no response has been provided.
The roots of this controversy stretch back to a policy decision made under former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who moved to end Temporary Protected Status for Haitians last year — a decision the Supreme Court upheld just last month.
That ruling set the stage for Monday’s expiration date, which stripped protections from roughly 330,000 Haitians nationwide, 14,000 of whom call Ohio home, per figures published in January by the advocacy group Fwd.us.
DeWine’s defense of Haitian immigrants isn’t new — he’s championed their economic contributions for months, and this latest interview was no exception.
Asked about communities like Springfield, DeWine said Haitians “have helped” the city thrive.
That city, of course, became a flashpoint during the 2024 election cycle, when President Trump and Vice President Vance amplified debunked rumors that Haitian residents were harming and consuming neighborhood pets.
DeWine offered a starkly different portrait of the city’s recent trajectory.
“Springfield has been making a real comeback,” he said.
He attributed much of that turnaround to the migrant workforce filling roles that had gone vacant.
“The Haitians who are living there and [are] employed there, they came there to work and they came there because there were jobs that were not being filled by other people,” DeWine said.
Beyond employment, DeWine pointed to broader community investment.
“These are people who have opened restaurants. They’ve opened other businesses. They’re rehabbed houses. They’ve created jobs, as well as filled jobs,” he said.
Losing that population, he warned, would carry real costs.
“So to lose them and have them not be able to work anymore and possibly taken out of this country, it’s frankly a blow to Springfield and a blow to the state of Ohio,” DeWine said.
Numbers back up part of his argument: Fwd.us estimates Haitian TPS holders generate $5.9 billion annually for the U.S. economy, with $91 million of that tied directly to Springfield.
Those same migrants pay over $1.5 billion each year across federal, state, local and payroll taxes combined, the report found.
Meanwhile, the destination awaiting deportees paints a grim picture. The U.S. State Department currently urges Americans to avoid traveling to Haiti altogether, citing widespread crime, kidnapping, terrorism, unrest and a healthcare system stretched thin.
Haiti’s TPS designation dates back to the Obama administration, which created the protection in response to the catastrophic 2010 earthquake that devastated the country.
DeWine didn’t shy away from dramatic language when describing what deportation could mean for those affected.
“Back to hell,” he said, describing where removal would send them.
He doesn’t expect widespread voluntary compliance, either.
“Very few of these Haitians will voluntarily go back to Haiti,” DeWine said.
Rather than return home, he predicted many would simply relocate elsewhere.
“If they have to leave, they’ll go someplace else. They want to work. They want to support their family. They don’t want to go back to Haiti,” DeWine said.
As of publication, ICE has not confirmed details of its enforcement timeline or responded publicly to DeWine’s comments.
