OHIO — Governor Mike DeWine is speaking out for the first time since a federal judge blocked the Trump Administration’s push to end the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian immigrants.
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DeWine was asked about the temporary pause while at an event in Circleville on Tuesday.
“Well, it’s a temporary pause. We don’t know how long it’s going to last,” DeWine told reporters. “And look, the courts are going to do what they do, and so our job is to follow the law, whatever the courts tell us.”
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DeWine added that his position remains the same regarding public policy.
“I think it’s a mistake to take away their temporary protected status because what that will mean when that happens is that they no longer can be employed,” DeWine said. “So you have a whole bunch of people, thousands of people in Ohio who are working, making a living, supporting their family, helping the economy grow. One day, if this is taken away, we’ll no longer be able to work. They’re going to be unemployed. That’s not a helpful thing for our economy."
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, D.C. granted a pause on the termination of TPS for Haitians while a lawsuit challenging it proceeds.
TPS for Haitians in the United States was scheduled to end on Feb. 3.
As previously reported by News Center 7, there are an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 Haitian immigrants in Springfield.
When talking about immigration on Monday, DeWine commended President Donald Trump for sealing the southern border and working to get violent criminal out of the country.
"Everybody, I think, agrees, or almost everybody agrees with those two things. Where we have a disagreement is about people who are not violent offenders, who are non-offenders, but who are people who are out there working and making a living every day," DeWine said. “And I can just say, as the governor of Ohio, it is not helpful to see those people taken out of the country or to see these people so they no longer can work. We need people who want to work, and we need people who will contribute to society. We need, too, people who will help build families and support their own families. That’s really what we need in Ohio."
DeWine was asked what his message was to Haitians in Springfield, who are concerned that the pause may not last forever.
“I think you have to take it one day at a time,” DeWine said in response. “And the Haitians today are, after midnight tonight, will still be able to be employed and they’ll still be able to work, and I think that is a change in the circumstances.”
While he added that he hopes it brings “some calmness” to the situation in Springfield, he still said “we can’t predict what the future is.”
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