Springfield In shadow of mass deportation threat, Haitians begin to flee

From a tiny office behind a Haitian grocery store on Springfield's South Limestone Street, Margery Koveleski has spent years helping local Haitians overcome red tape to make their lives in the Ohio city a little easier. But Koveleski, whose family is Haitian, has noticed a change: Haitians are now coming to her to figure out how to leave.

- Stephen Starr

"Some folks don't have credit cards or access to the internet, and they want to buy a bus ticket or a plane ticket, so we help them book a flight," she said. "People are leaving."

Koveleski and leaders in Springfield's Haitian community have relayed reports of Haitians fleeing the city of 60,000 people in recent days for fear of being rounded up and deported after Donald Trump's election victory.

The city's Haitian community has been in the spotlight since September, when Trump repeated false accusations that immigrants in Springfield were eating pets.

Since then, the city has seen bomb threats and neo-Nazi marches despite having experienced an urban revival in recent years in large part because of Haitians who took the jobs in local packaging and machining factories that locals found undesirable.

Trump has repeatedly said he would end immigrants' temporary protected status (TPS), through which many Haitians are legally allowed to live and work in the U.S.