Springfield, Ohio — Ketlie Moise fled indescribable violence to his native Haiti, hoping to find peace and a slice of the American dream, settling in Springfield, Ohio.
“I’m staying here,” Moise told CBS News. “I do two jobs to do my business. That’s why I’m not returning to Haiti.”
Moise has been saving money for years and recently opened a restaurant. She is one of the thousands of Haitian migrants who are building their lives in Springfield and who now find themselves in the line of sight of the new Trump administration. About 12,000 to 15,000 Haitians reside in the Springfield area, according to city estimates.
It was during the September 10 debate between President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris that Springfield came to the forefront, when Trump repeated false and debunked claims on the Haitian migrants who live there. Local officials said there were no credible reports to support such allegations.
Trump did the question of mass deportations a major pillar of his presidential campaign.
“We’re going to have the largest eviction in the history of our country, and we’re going to start in Springfield and Aurora,” Trump said. told reporters on September 13, referring to Aurora, Colorado, another city Trump tried to highlight this situation.
It announced last week that it would operate Tom Homan — who served as acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during his first term — as the so-called “border czar” to oversee this process.
Moise, like most of his fellow Haitians in Springfield, is here legally Temporary protection statuswhich Trump promised to end. The TPS program allows federal officials to grant deportation orders and work authorization to migrants from countries experiencing war, environmental disaster or other “extraordinary” crisis.
Moise says she knows about a dozen friends and neighbors who recently moved from Springfield, as well as several restaurant employees.
She said she also learned in Springfield that her mother had been fatally shot at the family business in Haiti.
“I’m scared because my business in Haiti was bombed and I lost my mother,” Moise told CBS News. “Someone comes into the business, they shoot my mother with a gun, bomb my business… If I get deported back to Haiti, for me in particular, I’m going to die, I’m going to be dead.”
Moise’s own daughter was among those who left Springfield. Moise said that when her daughter told her she wanted to leave, she considered joining her.
“Yeah, I keep thinking about it. I don’t know where I’m going to go, but I keep thinking about it,” Moise said.
Faith fuels Moise’s motivation to stay in Springfield and run his restaurant, while his business and future hang in the balance.
“We hope everything goes as planned,” she said. “God has a way of making everything work out.”
Camilo Montoya-Galvez contributed to this report.
Nicole Valdes
