Ohio Haitians Fitted With Ankle Monitors at ICE Summons
Dozens of Haitian nationals in Springfield have been ordered to a Blue Ash immigration office, where some have left with electronic monitors and no explanation.
Monsanto Maler walked out of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Blue Ash, Ohio, at 9:15 a.m. Sunday with an ankle monitor newly attached to his left leg, put a hand over his face and collapsed in tears on the concrete, his immigration documents scattering around him.
"I feel depressed, physically, mentally. I feel dizzy," he said through an interpreter.
Maler came to the United States in June 2023, fleeing gangs in Cap-Haïtien, Haiti, where he was struck on the right side of his head, leaving a large, visible scar.
In recent weeks, dozens of Haitian nationals living in Springfield — some who applied for asylum, others with temporary protected status — have received emails from the Department of Homeland Security ordering them to appear at the Blue Ash facility, often early on a Sunday morning. The letter, a photo of which was seen by The Guardian, gave no reason for the requirement and no indication that a monitoring device would be attached.
According to advocates and lawyers for the Haitians, those fitted with monitors may not travel more than 75 miles from home without an immigration judge's consent. The Blue Ash ICE office is at least 71 miles from Springfield.
On August 5, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington was forced to lift a stay that had blocked the Trump administration from ending temporary protected status for Haitians, following a Supreme Court decision backing the administration. About 350,000 Haitians in the U.S. hold that status.
More than 12,000 Haitians moved to Springfield over the past decade, taking manufacturing and food-packaging jobs local companies struggled to fill. In September 2024, then-candidate Donald Trump falsely claimed immigrants there were eating pets, drawing neo-Nazi marches, bomb threats and school closures to the town of 60,000.
Viles Dorsainvil of the Haitian Support Center and Pastor Carl Ruby drove south from Springfield at 5:30 a.m. to help. Ruby brought wine, bread and a large gold cross, and gave communion to two arrivals. "We want to give them the message that Jesus is with them," he said.
Lawyers said they are filing motions seeking to replace the ankle devices with wrist monitors. "The wrist monitors may be slightly less stigmatizing," said immigration attorney Heather Campbell.
ICE and DHS did not directly answer questions from The Guardian about the purpose of the monitors.
This article was produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI), in accordance with our editorial policy.
