At the center of the dispute are approximately 350,000 Haitian migrants who currently remain in the country under TPS protections. The program allows foreign nationals from countries experiencing major crises to temporarily live and work in the United States.
The Trump administration recently received a major legal victory when the Supreme Court cleared the way for the federal government to terminate Haiti’s TPS designation.
Despite that ruling, DeWine argued that Haiti remains too unstable to safely absorb a large-scale return of migrants.
Speaking during CNN’s “State of the Union,” the Ohio governor painted a bleak picture of current conditions in the Caribbean nation.
“You cannot fly into Port-au-Prince today,” DeWine said.
“Just this last week, several more schoolchildren were killed just because gangs were shooting back and forth. Gangs control a significant part of Haiti,” he said.
DeWine’s position places him at odds with many supporters of Trump’s immigration agenda, who argue that TPS was always intended to be temporary and should not become a permanent pathway to remain in the country.
Haitian nationals first became eligible for TPS following the devastating earthquake that struck the nation in 2010. What began as an emergency measure has now remained in place for well over a decade.
The Supreme Court’s ruling represented a significant win for the administration.
The justices concluded that federal law gives the executive branch broad authority regarding TPS designations and that courts have little power to interfere once the government decides to end those protections.
The decision also dismissed arguments claiming the administration acted improperly or was motivated by discriminatory intent.
Immigration advocacy groups had pointed to Trump’s past remarks regarding Haiti and Haitian migrants as evidence of bias.
However, Justice Samuel Alito rejected those claims in the court’s majority opinion, finding that the statements cited did not establish unlawful discrimination.
While DeWine acknowledged the court’s authority, he emphasized that he believes the policy debate should continue.
“I accept the Supreme Court’s decision.”
“In this country, they’re the final say of what the law is,” the governor said. “I think that it’s important that we separate the legal decision that was made by the Supreme Court with the issue of public policy.
“I would hope the Trump administration would reconsider,” he said. “These are jobs that are being filled by Haitians who are filling jobs that would not be filled any other way.”
Many of Ohio’s Haitian migrants live in and around Springfield, a city that became a national political flashpoint during the 2024 election cycle amid heated debates over immigration and community resources.
The Trump administration, however, appears determined to move forward.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin defended the policy during his own CNN appearance, arguing that TPS recipients have had years to pursue other legal immigration pathways if they wished to remain in the United States permanently.
“The whole time these individuals have been here underneath the Temporary Protected Status, they could have applied for a visa. They could have applied for LPR [Lawful Permanent Resident],” Mullin said on “State of the Union.”
The secretary stressed that those affected by the policy still have options available.
“These individuals have a couple of choices,” he added. “They can try to apply for a permanent residence here. They can apply for a temporary visa if they choose to, or they can choose to go back. And if they want to go back, we will help them with that.”
According to administration officials, Haitians choosing voluntary departure could receive financial assistance to help facilitate their return home.
The dispute highlights a growing divide within Republican circles between leaders focused primarily on labor shortages and local economic concerns and those pushing for a stricter interpretation of immigration law.
For now, the Supreme Court has given the administration the legal authority to proceed. The remaining question is whether political pressure from governors like DeWine will persuade the White House to reconsider before the policy is fully implemented.
