For the rest of 2025, Springfield’s Haitian Support Center is hosting legal clinics to help Haitian immigrants living in the city.
Many are in the U.S. legally under what’s called temporary protection status (TPS). However, that status is set to end on Aug. 3.
"Haiti is still in a state of horrific conditions," said Inna Simakovsky, a Columbus-based immigration attorney. "There's no housing, there's no employment, there's no protection."
She strongly disagrees with the Trump administration's efforts to end Haiti’s TPS designation.
Now she’s working with the Haitian Support Center to map out options for this population.
"They can apply for asylum. You have to prove persecution based on race, religion, nationality, politics, or social group," Simakovsky said.
"A lot of Haitians get married to American citizens or lawful permanent residents. They can apply for their green cards through that."
Simakovsky said there's another option for Haitians who have a child over the age of 21 and who was born in the U.S. They can also apply for a green card through their adult child.
Pending ongoing court challenges, TPS status will end for almost a dozen nations by December 2025.
Simakovsky urges all immigrants with TPS to work with a credible immigration attorney to navigate this complex issue.
"The Trump administration has put out a lot of new rules filing incomplete applications to the point where the court can pre-terminate the case without even allowing you to supplement your case," she said. "You can be ordered deported even though you had planned to supplement in the future. So it is very important that people hire counsel to be able to help them."
She also recommends organizing all entry documents, as well as papers connected to any federal program to which TPS immigrants have applied.
