In the months since the Supreme Court cleared the way for the Trump administration to end temporary protected status for Haitians and Syrians living in the U.S., hundreds of Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, have received ankle monitors from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The ankle monitors, a tracking method the agency uses as an alternative to detention, have been a source of shame for many of the former TPS recipients, said Viles Dorsainvil, who runs Springfield's Haitian Support Center.
“It makes them feel embarrassed, and they don't want to show this to the kids,” Dorsainvil said. “I have a cousin of mine who has it. And when he came home, he was even embarrassed just to look at me in the eyes.”
On Aug. 31, Pierre Damas Bel, a 20-year-old college student and Springfield resident, died in an apparent suicide. In July, he wrote on social media about “carrying a feeling of shame and humiliation” after receiving an ankle monitor.
Stephanie Sy (
@TheStephSy) reports.