FRONTLINE

Is there any part of the city for civilians where they can be safe?

NARRATOR: From on the ground in Haiti... Why are you hiding your identity?

Are you worried about safety here?

NARRATOR: ...to the risk of deportation in the United States.

More than 300,000 Haitians lost their Temporary Protected Status... Temporary Protected Status was just that: temporary.

Of course it’s better for them to get to stay.

But is it better for the American people?

For many families, it is the difference between unity and separation.

NARRATOR: Correspondent Sebastian Walker investigates.

Are you afraid of being targeted?

I do not let fear dominate me, but as a human being, I have fear as everybody else.

Now on FRONTLINE, Haiti Deportation Crisis.

♪ ♪ SEBASTIAN WALKER: It's August 2026, and an ICE deportation flight has just arrived from Miami.

(indistinct chatter) (man shouts) Among the people getting off the plane are some who, until a few weeks ago, had held Temporary Protected Status in the U.S.

TPS, an immigration program that had just been ended by the Trump Administration.

Many are hiding their identities out of fear of being targeted for kidnapping by the armed gangs who now control large parts of this country.

I remember, like, in 2024, they kidnapped my nephew.

We pay a lot of money to let him go, because over there it is not safe.

WALKER: This man said he'd been living in Toledo, Ohio when TPS ended.

When was the last time you were in Haiti?

In 2014.

WALKER: Where are you from?

I'm from Saint-Marc.

WALKER: So would you try to get back there?

Do you have any family there, or?

No, I don't know nobody here.

All my brothers, my sister, they are in the U.S., you know?

I lost my father, my mom, you know, here.

I don't know what I can do.

I've been in America since I was five years old.

Um, I did the 17 years in prison.

They didn't give me a chance to rehabilitate, so they got me in this weird island that I don't even know.

WALKER: The Department of Homeland Security said there were 15 "dangerous criminals" among the roughly 160 deportees.

Others we spoke to said they had no criminal records, and had left young children behind in the U.S.

I have a 17-month-old, a six-year-old and my husband.

WALKER: Oh, my God, do they know where you are?

So, as of today, they know where I am.

I have not seen my family since I was picked up.

I was moved five times, so when the lawyer filed the motion, every single time they had to file a new motion to a new location.

I was in the United States for 20 years, went to school, graduated high school and college, earned a doctoral degree.

TPS status ended, and, as a pharmacist, I ended up losing my job.

WALKER: You were a pharmacist professionally for how long?

For nine years in the state of Florida.

I was earning a six-figure, paying my taxes.

I've left this country at 14 years old.

I'm not really sure what I'm going to do.

This is, like, foreign land to me.

(indistinct chatter) WALKER: The U.S.

government first granted TPS to Haitians in 2010, after a devastating earthquake destroyed much of the country's infrastructure.

Since then, successive U.S.

administrations have renewed and expanded it, as Haiti faced widespread hunger, the assassination of its president, and escalating gang violence.

The Trump administration now says the situation is safe enough for Haitians to return home.

TPS is just that; it's temporary.

It was never designed to be permanent.

...We encourage everybody to go home.

...Your country needs you.

That's where you should be headed.

If you want to rebuild your country, go back and rebuild it.

WALKER: But Haitians here, and in the U.S.

warn their country is more dangerous than ever.

When people say that... ...we should go back home, I don't think they think about what home looks like for us.

(dog barking in distance) (plane engine whirring) WALKER: Three days after that deportation flight we were riding with a newly-established international military mission that's helping fight gang violence here.

It's called the Gang Suppression Force, and it's backed by the UN and supported by many countries, including the U.S.

We were the first foreign journalists to see them in action.

Their mandate is to bring security to Haiti after years of instability.

Criminal gangs now control most of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

Last week, they killed three police officers in that area.

WALKER: Just last week?

Yes, I think last week.

WALKER: Do you have gangs present in every part of the city right now?

My personal assumption is that 95, 98% of the city is... ...is infected with gangs.

WALKER: How does it compare with other places that you've operated in?

So, I operate in Mali.

The problem there was, uh, terrorism.

Here the problem is, one: you don't know who's who.

Here, uh, it's difficult to localize, where is the danger.

That side, the mountains, this is a town called Kenscoff.

Dangerous, really dangerous.

They shoot aircraft over there.

WALKER: So you've been attacked even on these air reconnaissance missions?

Three times.

WALKER: Three times?

Yes, sir.

WALKER: And is there any part of the city for civilians where they can... they can be safe?

If you go to the town, you will see, like, like normal activities, like, kids going to school, like market.

Everything looks normal.

But all of a sudden, everything can change.

WALKER: These GSF soldiers are from Chad.

They took us on patrol through neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince, where the Haitian police have almost completely withdrawn.

Moving around in heavy, armored personnel carriers, they said they rarely come under direct fire.

But there are signs of gang presence everywhere.

Down these roads, when you have a blockade, this is from the gangs?

Yes, sure.

They don't want APC or all security vehicle to come in.

They put this barricade.

Everybody is afraid because of this gang have control of this area.

They are up, they are watching us.

WALKER: They are watching us right now?

Yes, we know.

They are here.

WALKER: The GSF aims to establish a visible presence in areas where residents have been pushed out.

But fear of the gangs, who often use kidnapping to extort locals, is still preventing many from coming back.

The soldiers told us they'd cleared this neighborhood-- but it was still a ghost town.

The UN says nearly 1.5 million people have been displaced across the country due to the fighting.

First operation was conducted here.

This area was occupied, that we got information through so many sources, occupied by gangs.

WALKER: The school?

Yes.

WALKER: Area around the school?

Yes.

WALKER: Wow.

Because they put so many barricade, you cannot come with APC.

So with that reason that we dismounted patrol around 300 meters.

We come-- we send our guys by foot.

We catch six gangs here.

They were sleeping.

WALKER: Shortly after we arrived in Haiti, one gang attack near the capital sent shockwaves through the country, and exposed the enormity of the challenge.

Violence in Haiti has left 47 people dead and 22 injured.

Dozens of people have been killed by an armed gang just outside the capital of Haiti.

(women screaming) The day after the gunfire, the people of Kenscoff are in mourning.

Bodies lie where they fell, beneath blood-stained sheets.

Survivors found bodies of friends and relatives lying in the streets after armed men raided the community overnight.

WALKER: A powerful coalition of gangs trying to expand its control took more than 50 hostages, then posted videos and demanded ransoms from their families.

When we reached the community of Kenscoff, many were still being held, including 17-year-old "Nelly" Noel, who can be seen in this video.

Her father Estrel was left trying to negotiate her release.

(speaking Haitian Creole): WALKER: Is this her?

Yeah.

(singing) (audio continues playing) (speaking Haitian Creole): WALKER: She's got a great voice.

So then you've seen her in videos that have been filmed by the gang members?

Yeah, I see, I see.

(speaking Haitian Creole): WALKER: Did they let you talk to her?

Yes.

WALKER: The gang let you talk to her?

Yes.

WALKER: What did you say?

What did you tell her?

(speaking Haitian Creole): WALKER: The GSF doesn't yet have a presence in Kenscoff.

Instead, a local militia helps provide security.

The police give them weapons and other equipment.

(indistinct chatter) Patrique Saint-Hilaire is the group's leader.

Three days after the massacre, he took us through the areas that had been attacked.

(speaking Haitian Creole): (birds chirping) WALKER (speaking French): (speaking Haitian Creole): WALKER (speaking French): (speaking Haitian Creole): WALKER (speaking French): (speaking Haitian Creole): WALKER: All executed.

(speaking Haitian Creole): WALKER (speaking French): (speaking Haitian Creole): WALKER: Uh-huh.

(speaking Haitian Creole): WALKER (speaking French): (speaking Haitian Creole): WALKER (speaking French): (speaking Haitian Creole): (indistinct chatter) (speaking Haitian Creole): WALKER: Uh-huh.

(speaking Haitian Creole): WALKER (speaking French): (speaking Haitian Creole): (indistinct chatter, dog barking) (speaking Haitian Creole): (speaking Haitian Creole): (speaking Haitian Creole): (speaking Haitian Creole): (speaking Haitian Creole): WALKER: What's it like trying to bring up a family in Haiti right now with the security situation?

(speaking Haitian Creole): (speaking Haitian Creole): (speaking Haitian Creole): (speaking Haitian Creole): WALKER: On the night of the attack, many residents, including children took refuge in a church.

Armed gang members forced their way in, and started killing them.

(speaking Haitian Creole): (speaking Haitian Creole): WALKER: You weren't here yourself, you were outside?

Yes, I was outside.

I, when I call my father he said, so, I cannot do anything.

I just pray God.

I already leave my, my house.

WALKER: Because of the, the violence?

Yes, I come to this place to move, for work.

WALKER: Because there was more peace, more... Yeah, more peace, more security.

It's more, more safe.

WALKER: And then this happened.

This happened.

(sighs) Nobody is safe.

Nobody is safe in this country... nobody.

On day one, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history.

WALKER: President Trump came into office promising mass deportations.

I will rescue every city and town that has been invaded and conquered.

WALKER: And a key part of that was ending Temporary Protected Status for people from more than a dozen countries, including around 350,000 Haitians.

Absolutely, I'd revoke it and I'd bring them back to their country.

WALKER: But his effort to eliminate TPS for the Haitians was blocked by a federal court.

The move to end TPS for Haitians is paused for now.

A government official has confirmed that they are planning to appeal.

WALKER: When we first started reporting on this story back in the Spring of 2026, the TPS case had just been referred to the Supreme Court.

We'd come to the city which had become ground zero for the issue: Springfield, Ohio.

Following the rapid arrival of around 15,000 Haitian immigrants since 2020, residents were sharply divided on whether they should be allowed to stay.

Tensions are running high for an estimated 15,000 Haitians in Springfield.

WALKER: The Supreme Court was due to issue a decision in the coming months.

(speaking Haitian Creole): WALKER: Viles Dorsainvil is a pastor and community leader in Springfield.

He was granted TPS after coming to the United States in 2020.

(speaking Haitian Creole): WALKER: He runs a community center that supports Haitian families.

Hey, good morning.

I'm the executive director for the Haitian Super Center here in Springfield, Ohio.

I see everyday the human consequences of policies.

(speaking Haitian Creole): We have families calling our office and they told us what they are in need of.

Sometimes, it's diapers for the baby.

Sometimes, it's food.

Sometimes, they need a ride to come to our office to apply for asylum.

They are still in a mode of panic or uncertainty because they do not know what the verdict will be.

(keys jangling) WALKER: In the uncertainty around TPS, he said many Haitians in Springfield were afraid to leave their homes, for fear of being picked up by ICE.

(speaking Haitian Creole): WALKER: He and his team were delivering food and other basic supplies to families who were sheltering in their homes.

(speaking Haitian Creole): Temporary Protected Status is not simply a legal designation.

(tape tearing) The lives of thousands of families are in danger.

(speaking Haitian Creole) It's heavy, bro!

WALKER: With the future of their status in question, he said some TPS holders had lost their jobs, others had been unable to renew their driver's licenses.

(tape tearing) (grunts) For the Haitian, knowing that if TPS ends, they can be deported or whatever, it's like being put on a death row.

We have the moral and ethical responsibility to fight on their behalf.

(speaking Haitian Creole): (speaking Haitian Creole): We're not fighting for Haitians alone, we're fighting for the community of Springfield.

(cheering) The beautiful things about Springfield is that folks from all walks of life rally in solidarity to the community.

What's up, Carl?

Hey, Mike.

WALKER: Carl Ruby is the pastor of Central Christian Church, where Viles Dorsainvil also worships.

(grunts) I'm nervous about the outcome.

WALKER: He started a coalition of churches and local groups known as the G92 that advocates for Haitian immigrants in Springfield.

Okay, good morning, everyone.

Good morning!

I really think that if most Americans really understood what's going on in Haiti, that their hearts would change.

But they just, they don't, they don't realize how bad it is.

Carl and Viles, thank you very much to the two of you for being out front and leading.

(applause) There are growing pains when you have thousands of new people, you know, enter a community this size, but there are also benefits.

Springfield was a declining Rust Belt city, and then just like that, Haitians started arriving.

There are factories relocating here.

And businesses are expanding their business, because we've got this labor force who are willing to work, they work hard.

Urgent requests regarding the increase of Haitian immigrants from Springfield mayor Rob Rue are now getting federal attention.

This has overwhelmed our safety services and caused great concern for our community.

WALKER: Initially, the arrival of around 15,000 people to a city of only 60,000, strained housing, schools and hospitals.

It's taxing our infrastructure, it's taxing public safety, it's taxing our schools, it's taxing healthcare.

It's taxing our housing.

Emotions continue to run high tonight after a child was killed in a school bus crash less than 24 hours ago.

WALKER: In 2023, a fatal accident involving a Haitian immigrant driving without a valid license inflamed tensions.

We're supposed to accept them here?

No.

I don't.

WALKER: Leading to a series of heated arguments at city council meetings.

Haitians are occupiers in Springfield.

Things are gonna get ugly.

I don't know if you, uh, if you want to see that happen.

My son Aidan Clark was not murdered.

He was accidentally killed by an immigrant from Haiti.

But don't spin this towards hate.

WALKER: Then Donald Trump weighed in, seizing on a false rumor that had been circulating in Springfield.

In Springfield, they're eating the dogs, the people that came in.

They're eating the cats.

They're eating, they're eating the pets of the people that live there.

That moment... ...set off an explosion.

Bomb threats tied to a baseless rumor spread by Donald Trump.

More than 30 bomb threats... ...Against City Hall and local schools.

Each one has been investigated.

It has been found to be a hoax.

Hate has no home here!

Haitians have no home here!

All of a sudden, we have white supremacy groups descending upon our city.

The Proud Boys were seen marching through the streets over the weekend.

WALKER: The city was now a flashpoint in the national debate about immigration.

Nazis marching in Springfield?

What brought Nazis to Springfield?

I kept saying, guys, Springfield is a tinderbox right now.

All this stuff and people keep throwing matches.

One of them is going to light.

WALKER: Ken Seelig describes himself as a street pastor.

He and his friend Mark Sanders are Springfield residents who've advocated against TPS.

WALKER: So you would say most people in Springfield are in favor of the policy of ending TPS?

Yes.

Overwhelmingly.

Clark County has never, ever voted such a high Republican vote as they did in 2024, based upon not-- it was almost 70% voted for Donald Trump in Clark County.

WALKER: This issue being a factor, this issue... Absolutely, it has divided our city.

Unbelievable.

Nationally, man, I mean, the immigration thing, Springfield, yeah, we're a model.

You know, I mean, we're the perfect model of how it can go bad.

Of what not to do.

Of what not to do.

WALKER: What about for these Haitian families who are now facing going back to a place that is incredibly dangerous right now.

What's your perspective on that?

They don't have to go back to Haiti.

They can go anywhere else.

Yeah.

They can go to Chile, they can go to Brazil.

You know, the old saying at the bar, you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here.

You know, we have given 16 years of benevolence.

♪ ♪ (music playing) WALKER: As the Supreme Court weighed the TPS case, community members from Springfield gathered in Washington.

Viles Dorsainvil attended the hearing and addressed demonstrators outside the court.

So, the question before the court is not just a legal one, it is a moral one about who we are as a nation and how we treat people who have rallied in our communities.

(cheers and applause) WALKER: On the morning of June 25, advocates gathered at Carl Ruby's church to await the court's ruling.

God, my heart's like we're living in the upside-down.

(indistinct chatter) There, oh, this is it.

This is bad.

Yeah.

Dial Geoff Pipoly.

(on phone speaker): (sighs) It's a complete and total loss.

(groans) So does that mean that deportations could begin now?

(on phone speaker): Yep.

And they lose their ability to work now?

(on phone speaker): Yep.

(groans) (on phone speaker): TPS is over.

WALKER: The ruling said the courts didn't have a legal basis to stop the Trump administration from ending TPS.

Conditions in Haiti were not a factor in the decision.

I'm so sorry.

To me, today was... ...the saddest day since I've been here.

Because for what I knew about the U.S., it's a country where justice and human dignity would always be upheld.

But unfortunately, this is not the case.

Geoff, everyone is waiting to hear your take on what just happened.

(on phone speaker): The Supreme Court's decision means that... ...many, many people are going to die violent, needless deaths.

That's the bottom line.

(indistinct chatter) Do you expect the administration to deport anyone who loses TPS status as a result of this ruling?

Of course, if you, if you no longer have status in this country, then you're supposed to be deported, and in particular, in the case of the Haitians... WALKER: That same day in Washington, White House adviser Stephen Miller was publicly defending the decision to end TPS.

Does the administration consider Haiti a safe country?

For Haitians?

Absolutely.

The fact that there might be pockets of Haiti where there's higher crime rates.

Guess what?

There's pockets of Chicago with crime rates just as high, right?

There's pockets of cities like St.

Louis with crime just as high, pockets of Los Angeles with crime just as high.

It has never been the case that having communities that have high crime rates is a basis for asylum.

Never has been, never will be.

Thank you all, have a great day.

(indistinct chatter) WALKER: Neither Stephen Miller nor anyone else from the administration would agree to an interview with us.

In a statement, a White House spokeswoman said that TPS had "been abused by Democrats as a de facto amnesty program" to allow foreigners to remain in the country "forever," and that the President would continue to "put Americans first."

Jonathan Fahey was the senior DHS and ICE official during the first Trump administration.

So, if you were to sum up the Trump administration's reasoning for ending TPS for Haiti now, what would it be?

Well, the reason for it to begin with is over.

You know, right now, I believe we have about 7% of Haiti's population lives in the United States.

I think there's about 850,000 Haitians living here.

They've been living here for a long time.

If we have these processes like TPS, if temporary just means permanent, then what is the-- the statute doesn't mean what it's supposed to mean.

So they have to adhere to the statute.

WALKER: Haitians say their country is more dangerous now than ever.

Shouldn't that be a consideration?

Should it be a consideration?

Maybe.

I mean, I think Haiti has always been a really dangerous place, and it's not a desirable place to go back to.

Again... the people that have gotten the Temporary Protected Status, you know, you would hope they would be appreciative of the fact they have gotten to live in this country for years, even decades, earn money, get skills.

But there is the fact, when you look at overall not just TPS, but overall immigration policy, immigration law, the primary beneficiaries of it should be, should be the American citizens, not what's best for Haitians forever and ever.

Of course, it's better for them to get to stay.

But the question is, is it better for the American people, not just for them, but for everyone?

(horn honking) ♪ I gotta stand with the immigrants ♪ (claps twice) ♪ Down by the riverside ♪ (claps twice) ♪ Down by the riverside ♪ (claps twice) ♪ Down by the riverside ♪ WALKER: By early August, federal agents were starting to detain Haitians in Springfield during daily patrols, but the wide-spread ICE raids that many feared had not yet materialized.

(cheers and applause) We love you, neighbor!

WALKER: Instead, hundreds of TPS holders were summoned to ICE offices near Springfield.

(speaking Haitian Creole): Would you like to receive communion this morning?

WALKER: Viles Dorsainvil and Carl Ruby were offering communion to those heading inside.

(praying in Haitian Creole) (praying continues, crowd chanting) May Christ go with you.

(interpreter translating) (chanting): Shame on ICE!

WALKER: When they emerged, many were wearing GPS ankle monitors.

DHS has said that the monitors are an "alternative" to detention, and that they are used "on a case-by-case basis" for "supervision."

But the fear here was that they were a precursor to deportation.

(sobbing) (sobbing loudly) (sobbing) (speaking Haitian Creole): (speaking Haitian Creole): (speaking Haitian Creole) (speaking Haitian Creole): ♪ ♪ These are all clergy to support you.

Thank you so much, thank you.

WALKER: Philippe Vil and his wife Vicky had been living in Springfield since 2023.

He had been working regular shifts at a warehouse.

My wife got the watch, but me, I got the monitor on my knee.

WALKER: She was pregnant, so the device was placed on her wrist.

Frustrated.

You know, because, because I'm not a... Criminal.

I don't know what's gonna happen in my work.

Like, someone might look at me, this guy is criminal.

Like, discrimination... But, it's okay.

I'm going to work.

Do my work and enjoy my life after.

I don't know what happens next, but I want to... (speaking Haitian Creole): (speaking Haitian Creole): WALKER: A few days later, he was at the support center trying to get answers.

(speaking Haitian Creole): (speaking Haitian Creole): (speaking Haitian Creole): (speaking Haitian Creole): The officer, she said to me the government have a program about self-deportation.

The government is gonna pay the ticket for you, $2,600.

WALKER: They were trying to get you to self-deport?

Yeah, self-deportation.

WALKER: They were offering you this option?

Yes.

"If you don't accept your deportation, swear to take the ankle monitor."

You don't have any other options.

If I go to Haiti... ...I'm gonna be dead, because where I'm from is dangerous.

WALKER: He told us that since he left Haiti, gangs have taken over his neighborhood.

This is a, it's a big question in my head: if I'm deported, what's gonna happen with my daughter?

She's a baby.

She's a baby.

WALKER: His three-year-old daughter was born in the U.S.

What color it is?

Green.

Green?

I'm supposed to give her a good education.

Work hard to give her a good life.

But now Haiti don't offer her this life.

WALKER: Your daughter's American?

Yeah, she's born here in Springfield.

WALKER: Are you thinking of maybe not taking her?

Yes.

That's my fear, I'm scared about that.

Before I enter in U.S.A., an immigration officer give me the paper, and they said, "Welcome to the U.S.A."

Me and my wife made all the steps.

I came here, I worked, I paid my taxes.

We just want to work, and give a good life for my family.

WALKER: The threat of deportation was hitting home for everyone we spoke to.

Are you afraid of being targeted for speaking out and being a leader of the community?

I do not let fear dominate me.

but as a human being, I have fear as everybody else.

I am a TPS holder and asylum seeker.

I am on the same boat as everybody else.

(indistinct chatter) (speaking Haitian Creole): (speaking Haitian Creole): (speaking Haitian Creole): WALKER: This was the church where Viles Dorsainvil was the pastor before fleeing Haiti.

His older brother Bernito now delivers the sermons.

(speaking Haitian Creole): (applause) WALKER: Both he and another brother, Ronnie, said they were following the news from Springfield, and were concerned about Viles getting deported.

Do you worry about your brother, Viles?

(speaking Haitian Creole): WALKER: What would you say to those that might think it's safe to send Haitian families back to Haiti, right now?

(speaking Haitian Creole): WALKER: Back in Kenscoff, we checked in on the father of the kidnapped teenager, Nelly Noel.

He was now staying in a guarded compound with other families whose homes were attacked.

He told us the gangs had demanded more money.

Have you heard anything?

(speaking Haitian Creole): WALKER: Do you know where the place is that she's being held, generally, like, which part of the mountain?

(speaking Haitian Creole): WALKER (speaking French): (speaking Haitian Creole): WALKER (speaking French): (speaking Haitian Creole): WALKER: While Estrel Noel waited for another phone call, other families were burying their loved ones.

(indistinct chatter) There were funerals taking place every day we were here-- one of the mourners was the young man whose father was killed hiding in the church.

(speaking Haitian Creole): (speaking Haitian Creole): WALKER: The scale of the massacre in Kenscoff reverberated beyond Haiti, and would highlight a tension in the Trump administration's deportation policy.

On August 28, at an emergency United Nations Security Council meeting, a U.S.

representative to the UN decried the security situation in Haiti.

This attack, which follows months of ongoing deadly violence, is another reminder of the dire state of Haiti's security crisis.

For months, terrorist gangs have murdered civilians, terrorized communities, burned homes and destroyed families.

WALKER: The U.S.

ambassador to the UN later underscored the point.

Now we have a situation where the gangs have taken over.

They've gotten stronger, Haitian institutions... weaker, and everyday people in Haiti and in the region, and even in our own countries, have paid the price.

WALKER: I asked Jonathan Fahey the former Trump DHS official, about the apparent contradiction of sending people back to a country the administration was describing in such dire terms.

You know, the United States has taken on this responsibility for 16 years.

We have a, you know, a very, a large number of prosperous nations that could also step in at any time and say, "We'll take these people, we'll bring them into Switzerland, we'll bring them into Finland."

If there is a moral obligation, the United States has certainly more than met our obligation.

The United States has done far more than anyone to address this; not only humanitarian aid, but other types of things to make the lives better for the Haitians in Haiti, but also the Haitians in America.

WALKER: By late August, deportation flights carrying former TPS holders were starting to land in Haiti on a weekly basis.

Viles Dorsainvil was giving his brothers regular updates on the situation in Springfield.

(phone ringing) (on phone speaker): Yo.

(speaking Haitian Creole): (speaking Haitian Creole): (speaking Haitian Creole on phone): (speaking Haitian Creole): (speaking Haitian Creole): WALKER: They were talking about a young man named Pierre Damas Bel.

He was 20 years old.

Just hours before this call, he had taken his own life.

This is him starting school.

His last post, his last post was five days ago, starting... He was not in the youth club, no?

No.

He was excited to start school, and I think he was a student athlete, there's a picture of him on the field, and he's like "How am I supposed to practice with this thing on my leg?"

WALKER: ICE had fitted him with an ankle monitor after TPS ended.

Around a month later, just after starting college as an honors student studying neuroscience, he parked his car on the highway, and stepped in front of a semi-truck.

(on phone speaker): And how many children do they have?

Uh, three.

Now two.

And this, and with the... (on phone speaker): I mean, they had three?

Yeah, now they have two.

WALKER: He'd been posting on social media about the "shame and humiliation" of wearing the GPS monitor.

Every day, he was posting depressing stuff, the last thing I saw in his post, he was posting, like, ICE, just all over Springfield arresting people.

WALKER: Throughout this time, ICE had been ramping up its presence in Springfield, making arrests at gas stations, in shopping plazas, and outside homes.

Like many former TPS holders in Springfield, Philippe Vil and his family were trying to restrict their movements as much as possible.

(speaking Haitian Creole): WALKER: At a press conference near Springfield, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin defended ICE actions in the city.

TPS is just that; it's temporary.

It was never designed to be permanent.

TPS was granted to these Haitians after an earthquake that took place over 15 years ago.

And we've made 380 arrests in Springfield.

We're going to continue to push-- we encourage everybody to go home.

He was asked about the death of Pierre Damas Bel.

I have a tremendous amount of sympathy as a father of six kids, in that situation.

But I also know enough about suicide that that is mental illness.

...It breaks my heart for the parents.

But we were following our procedures.

We did our job.

What happened when he went home, he wasn't in our custody.

We're not responsible for that.

WALKER: Pierre's death would become a flashpoint in the controversy over TPS.

Vigils took place in Columbus, in Dayton and in Springfield.

The Republican Governor of Ohio, Mike DeWine, also spoke out.

This is a horrible, horrible tragedy.

You've heard me talk a lot about what I consider to be a very misguided and wrong policy, um, in regard to mass deporting people from this country... WALKER: DeWine has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration's decision to end TPS.

How do you explain the decision to deport people to Haiti at this time?

I can't explain it.

It's not in our best interest as a country.

It's certainly not in our best interest here, here in the state of Ohio.

You know, I think when people look at the issue of immigration, they can be conflicted.

I think the average Ohioan would say, look, uh... ...the southern border needs to be dealt with.

Which the president has done.

I think they'll say, look, if you're a violent criminal, we want you out of here, go pick them-- pick you up.

ICE should be after the violent criminals.

We don't want them here.

Either lock them up or get them out of the country.

But then if you switch that over and ask the average Ohioan, well, what about this person who's been here for a couple years or maybe five years or maybe ten years or maybe even longer?

They're productive members of society.

They're raising their family here.

They belong to this church.

They work here.

Should we yank them up and get rid of them?

And I think most people would say that's not in our best interest.

WALKER: Is there anything that you are actively doing about it?

With the deportations that are happening already in communities like Springfield?

Well, there is really nothing as governor of the state of Ohio that I can do about the decisions that are being made by ICE or whoever's making the decisions and picking people up.

WALKER: Do you want to see ICE out of Springfield?

Look, I'll go back again to the policy.

I think the policy is wrong.

You know, members of ICE are carrying out what their duties are.

I'm not going to be critical of anybody in ICE.

The policy is what is wrong.

The policy, I think, is a mistake.

WALKER: On October 3, Pierre Damas Bel was buried in Springfield.

(speaking Haitian Creole): This is in honor of Springfield, Ohio.

WALKER: That same day, 25 miles away, President Trump was holding a campaign rally.

He doubled down on his rhetoric about Springfield.

Idyllic, it was an idyllic place.

Was, is the better word.

Not anymore, but it will soon be.

They're all being brought back to their country immediately.

(cheers and applause) WALKER: So far, advocates who track the deportations estimate that several hundred former TPS holders have been sent back to Haiti.

At least half a dozen from Springfield.

In Haiti, thousands more GSF troops are expected to arrive in the coming months to deal with the continuing violence.

Some of the hostages from Kenscoff, including Nelly Noel, were eventually freed.

But others remain unaccounted for.

In Springfield, Philippe Vil is still waiting to hear whether he will be deported.

Viles Dorsainvil is trying to continue his work.

Since the ICE raids have been escalating in Springfield, I have not been going to church.

I knew from the get-go that anything could happen.

Policies... have a real impact on people's daily lives.

WALKER: What do you do, you just... ...you just wait?

Actually, this is the option we have, to wait.

We cannot do any other thing.

(on computer): ICE is here!

Do not come outside!

So that's the reality for so many of our Haitian brothers and sisters being here in Springfield.

(on computer): What brings you to the neighborhood?

I'm not sure that they have any other option than to wait and see what will be happening.

♪ ♪ Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org NARRATOR: Go to pbs.org/frontline On day one I will launch the largest deportation program in American history.

I can't explain it.

It's not in our best interest as a country.

NARRATOR: For more of our films and reporting on the president's immigration crackdown.

Visit the FRONTLINE Archive where you can stream more than 300 documentaries.

Connect with FRONTLINE on Facebook and Instagram, and stream anytime on the PBS app, YouTube or pbs.org/frontline.

FRONTLINE’s “Haiti Deporation Crisis” is available on Amazon Prime Video.

♪ ♪