Catholic sisters join 700 protesters outside Ohio ICE office over Haitian deportations

Catholic sisters stood with a crowd of about 700 in Blue Ash, Ohio, to protest ICE's enforcement against Haitian immigrants after Temporary Protected Status ended.

At 7:42 a.m. on Sunday, a Haitian immigrant arrived at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Blue Ash, Ohio, while a group of Catholic sisters stood nearby with banners demanding an end to exclusionary policies. Sisters from the Orders of Mercy, the Precious Blood, Charity and Divine Providence, organized under the Ohio Sisters Justice Network, displayed messages such as “Love Your Neighbor, no exceptions” and “It’s so bad even the NUNS are mad!”

Approximately 700 community members, including pastors, a Jewish rabbi, a Baptist minister and a Muslim chaplain, gathered to chant “ICE does not speak for the people!” and offer communion. The demonstration follows ICE’s recent letters to Haitian residents in Springfield—where roughly one in four people are Haitian—informing them that the Supreme Court-backed termination of Temporary Protected Status will be enforced.

Local activists fear mass deportations could separate families and create a humanitarian emergency, recalling the failed “Operation Metro Surge” that sparked violence in Minneapolis earlier this year. The sisters argue that the deportations contradict Christian teachings, while a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson reiterated that TPS was always intended as a temporary measure.