‘This is modern-day shackling’: Haitian immigrants leave Ohio ICE appointments wearing ankle monitors as TPS ends
As the Trump administration ends Temporary Protected Status, some Haitians in Ohio were given ankle monitors after mandatory ICE check-ins.
On June 25, 2026, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority shook over 350,000 Haitian migrants living in the United States when it ruled that the Trump administration’s decision to terminate Temporary Protective Status (TPS) for Haitians, as well as Syrian migrants, was legal. On July 29, these communities began bracing for impact when the Department of Homeland Security “determined that Haiti no longer met the conditions for its designation for Temporary Protected Status.” Since then, community leaders and advocates have been working to find ways to protect these communities that came to the United States to escape precarious situations and instability in their native lands.
However, this weekend, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials began rolling out their first wave of actions in alignment with the Trump administration’s mission to end TPS. As reported by Springfield News Sun, several Haitians reported to ICE’s Cincinnati field office after receiving letters from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security summoning them for mandatory “in-person check-ins.” If the recipient was unable to make their check-in appointment, they were instructed to submit a reason for their absence within 24 hours of receiving the letter.
Being told to bring “any and all immigration documents” to the appointment, many Haitians were seen leaving the ICE office with ankle monitors. Sony Prenice, a Haitian resident, told the Cincinnati Enquirer that she was given the option to either wear an ankle monitor that restricts her to a 75-mile radius around her permanent residence unless given permission by ICE officials or be deported back to Haiti with $2,600.
“It is so humiliating to see parents, fathers and mothers, who have not been committing any crime now with some type of ankle bracelets on their feet,” Vilès Dorsainvil, executive director of Springfield’s Haitian Community Help and Support Center, told local NBC4 reporters. “That has created so much fear.”
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In addition to some individuals being outfitted with ankle monitors, others received new immigration court dates within the next 30 days. As news broke of the new policy, many social media users called out just how much ICE’s tactics mirror those of oppressive moments in history like slavery and World War II.
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“This reminds me of slavery,” one anti-ICE protester in Ohio told Freedom News. “This is shackling. This is modern-day shackling.”
As freelance writer and podcaster Kevin Ortega-Rojas pointed out, “Cruelty is the point of this administration.” While many argue that the ICE ankle monitors are an “alternative to detention,” the practice used to involve less aggressive tactics. As outlined on an archived page of ICE’s official website, ICE’s Alternatives to Detention (ATD) Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP) previously included the option of location monitoring through wrist-worn devices or the SmartLINK tracking System, rather than ankle devices, which many communities associate with criminals.
While the end of TPS leaves a significant impact on Haitian communities, the branch of the Homeland Security Department that oversees legal migration, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ latest change to the asylum process could be equally as detrimental to migrant communities. On July 27, USCIS announced a new rule that allows agents to refer asylum applications to Immigration Judges without first interviewing the applicant, a changed claiming to speed up the typically years-long process, but that also increases the likelihood of detainment and deportation.
As immigration attorneys call the changes a “war on asylum,” the Department of Homeland Security’s official page posted a series of posts celebrating the end of TPS, a status which was granted to Haitian communities since 2010 following the devastating category 7 earthquake, and has continued in light of the political unrest and heavy gang activity on the island.
“The racial motivation that animated this administration’s callous decision to terminate TPS for Haitian nationals in our country is simply undeniable,” said Kristen Clarke, NAACP General Counsel, in light of the Supreme Court decision. “This decision flies in the face of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, which prohibits intentional acts of racial discrimination. At every turn, we see this administration undertaking policy motivated by a toxic combination of racism and xenophobia, intended to dehumanize, diminish, and erase Black people’s presence, our political power, and our voice.”