No clarity and no time: Haitian TPS ends Tuesday

FINDLAY — State and local officials are still trying to anticipate what will happen when federal protections for Haitian immigrants expire Tuesday. They don't know. At the Jan. 20 regular meeting of Findlay City Council, Mayor Christina Muryn gave a brief update on the situation. She said local agencies have received no federal guidance on what enforcement or processing will look like once their temporary protected status (TPS) ends in early February. She said the city's Immigration Task Force met earlier this month and is continuing to monitor the situation. Still, she emphasized that the lack of information from Washington leaves communities preparing without a clear understanding of what is to come. Muryn said Haitian immigrants in Findlay who are here under TPS still have legal status to be here until the deadline. She said some may continue working legally if they hold separate work visas that extend beyond the TPS deadline. But beyond those limited scenarios, she said local governments have no indication of how quickly federal agencies may act or what steps TPS holders will be expected to take once protections lapse. She urged council members to direct anyone seeking help to Northwest Ohio Legal Aid, which can advise immigrants on "their rights and any process they need to work through to either extend, relocate, or return to their home country." Muryn's update mirrors the broader uncertainty felt across Ohio. Gov. Mike DeWine said on Dec. 15 that he has received no communication from the Trump administration about a delay of the Feb. 3 deadline, despite warning that more than 10,000 Haitian immigrants in western Ohio could lose work authorization on the same day, leaving employers with "a lot of unfilled jobs." The approaching TPS deadline follows a year of rising fear among Haitian immigrants locally and statewide. In February 2025, when the Trump administration first announced the end of TPS for Haitians, attorneys with Advocates for Basic Legal Equality (ABLE) urged Haitian immigrants in Findlay and Hancock County to begin preparing for possible "immigration enforcement" once protections expired. At that time, TPS was set to end in August 2025, and ABLE stressed the need for family plans, emergency child‑care arrangements, and legal guidance as immigrants faced an uncertain future. Findlay and Hancock County together were then home to roughly 1,000–1,500 Haitian immigrants, many working through regional staffing agencies. ABLE warned that legal‑aid resources in west‑central and northwest Ohio were already stretched thin, calling support for low‑income immigrant families "nearly nonexistent" across its 32‑county service area. A year later, with the February 2026 TPS deadline now days away, Muryn said she does not expect "anything dramatic" to happen immediately but acknowledged that the lack of federal direction means local officials are preparing for a range of possibilities. As the deadline approaches, she said the city will continue assisting immigrants seeking legal advice and will update council as soon as additional information becomes available.