SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — With less than two months until inauguration day, the spotlight is slowly returning to communities like Springfield, Ohio.

What You Need To Know

  • Immigration-reform continues to be one of the top priorities of President-elect Donald Trump and Senator-elect Bernie Moreno  

  • Springfield, Ohio, remains a top priority among lawmakers 

  • Moreno said the Haitian migrants residing in Springfield, Ohio, under Temporary Protected Status will remain protected until February 2026

Immigration reform remains a key focus of President-elect Donald Trump, but one incoming lawmaker who he helped win on election night seems to be taking a less aggressive stance on the future of thousands of people living in Clark County.

“We’re going to have the largest deportation in the history of our country," Trump said. "And we’re going to start with Springfield and Aurora.”  

Trump's goal is to force certain immigrants out of the United States starting on the first day of his second term. However, incoming Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno said most of the Haitian immigrants in Springfield could have some extra time.

He said everyone is following the federal law. 

"They're here under temporary protected status," Moreno said. "That status is good until February of 2026. That's the law. We're going to respect that. We're not going to change that." 

Moreno made those comments Thursday night in Columbus, Ohio, to a pool of reporters. He is reinforcing anyone with Temporary Protection Status will be legal in Ohio for the next 15 months. But, he said after that date everything could change depending on the legal status. 

"When that temporary protected status ends, they have to make plans to leave, unless they have a valid asylum claim," Moreno said.  

Ketli Moise owns a restaurant in Springfield, Ohio, and worked hard to get to this point in her life. She would not say whether she plans to apply for asylum status after the TPS program ends. However, she said it’s simply too dangerous to return to her native country of Haiti.

"Two people come in," Moise said. "And, the bicycle put a gun to my mommy. They kill my mommy inside my business. They burn my business. I lost everything." 

The uncertain situation is keeping immigration attorneys like Vince Wells busy during this time of the year. His advice to immigrants who currently have Temporary Protection Status is to keep their documents organized and seek legal assistance if they’re uncertain about their status, especially before they potentially become undocumented in February of 2026.

"You have no protections at that point," Wells said. "Now, that being said, there's other statuses that people on Temporary Protected Status oftentimes obtain. You may, while you're on this status, apply for asylum and obtain work authorization and deportation protections through your seeking asylum status." 

As for Moise, she hopes to continue striving for the American dream that she originally left everything for in 2018 to start over. 

"I got nothing in Haiti," Moise said. "If I get deported what do you think would happen? I am praying."