From the Daily Caller News Foundation 

By Jason Hopkins

‘They Are Afraid’

Haitians living in Springfield, Ohio appear to be fleeing the city in droves after President-elect Donald Trump was declared the winner of the election, according to reports from locals.

The national spotlight shined on Springfield, a city of roughly 60,000 residents nestled in central Ohio, for weeks following unverified viral online claims that Haitians migrants had been spotted butchering a pet for consumption. The subsequent uproar about Springfield sparked further media debate about mass migration and its consequences, as Springfield has been dealing with an influx of Haitian migrants in a relatively short amount of time.

“The traffic situation seems to be better now,” longtime resident Barron Seelig said to the Daily Caller News Foundation, referring to widespread accounts from city residents in past months that Haitian drivers are causing mayhem on the roads.

While Seelig did speak about local rumors of impending Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids possibly scaring Haitians away, he also mentioned recent crackdowns by highway patrol officers and added that some migrants are leaving because they don’t enjoy the Ohio winters. Another Springfield local told the DCNF that he heard it was virtually impossible to rent a U-Haul truck because so many Haitians are currently renting them — presumably to leave town.

Those who provide services to immigrant services in the city have also said that Trump’s election victory has prompted Haitians to flee en masse.

“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,” Margery Koveleski, who helps Haitian migrants manage government bureaucracy, told The Guardian. “People are leaving.”

“People are fully aware of the election result, and that is why they are leaving; they are afraid of a mass deportation” Jason Payen, a co-founder of the Haitian Community Alliance, said to the Guardian.

“Several of my customers have left. One guy with his family went to New Jersey; others have gone to Boston,” Payen continued. “I know three families that have gone to Canada.”

Trump, for his part, has vowed to embark on a border enforcement agenda that will apply to the entire country.

During the campaign, Trump pledged to continue building the U.S.-Mexico border wall, revive the Remain in Mexico program, hire more border patrol agents and conduct the “largest deportation program in American history,” and end birthright citizenship for those born on U.S. soil to illegal migrant parents.

Trump said in October that he would revoke Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian nationals and “bring them back” to the country. The Biden-Harris administration has provided TPS — which temporarily gives deportation protections to its designees — to hundreds of thousands of Haitian nationals currently living in the U.S.

From the Daily Caller News Foundation 

By Jason Hopkins

President-elect Donald Trump confirmed Monday that he will declare a national emergency and use military assets to help him carry out his mass deportation plans.

“True!!!” the president-elect posted on Truth Social early Monday morning in response to a post by Tom Fitton, the president of Judicial Watch. Fitton had posted about reports indicating the incoming Trump administration was “prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program.”

The post on Truth Social was the latest indication that the president-elect and his administration intend to carry out an incredibly hardline immigration enforcement agenda for the next four years.

During the campaign, Trump pledged to continue building the U.S.-Mexico border wall, revive the Remain in Mexico program, hire more border patrol agents and conduct the “largest deportation program in American history.” He has also declared he will end birthright citizenship for those born on U.S. soil to illegal migrant parents.

The incoming administration appears poised to follow through on this hardline agenda given the individuals tapped to lead top immigration enforcement roles. The White House transition team has picked former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) acting director Tom Homan to serve as border czar, Stephen Miller to serve as deputy chief of staff for policy and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security — all of whom are considered very hawkish on border enforcement.

Trump has yet to name who will lead ICE, Customs and Border Protection, or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which are three agencies within DHS that play a critical role in the American immigration process

This would not be the first time Trump has used his national emergency authority to help his immigration agenda.

During his first term, the Republican president declared a national emergency in order to secure more funding for wall construction along the U.S.-Mexico border. He later extended this national emergency declaration in order to maintain progress for wall construction efforts.

As in his first term, Trump is likely to face lawsuits against his immigration agenda from immigrant rights groups and other liberal organizations. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed more than 400 legal actions against Trump and his first administration since 2016, with a large portion targeting immigration directives, and has vowed to go to court again once Trump resumes office.

“Starting on day one, we’re ready to fight for our civil liberties and civil rights in the courts, in Congress, and in our communities,” the organization stated after Trump’s Election Day victory. “We did it during his first term — filing 434 legal actions against Trump while he was in office — and we’ll do it again.”