Former Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat running for U.S. Senate in Ohio against Republican Sen. Jon Husted, criticized the Supreme Court after it allowed President Donald Trump’s administration to move forward with ending Temporary Protected Status for Haitians, arguing the decision would hurt families and undermine economic opportunity for Ohioans.
Brown posted on X Thursday: “TODAY’S RULING IS WRONG and a devastating blow to thousands of families who have built their lives here, working, paying taxes, and contributing to Ohio’s communities.
I agree with Governor DeWine and the majority of Ohioans who recognize that the Haitian community plays a key role in helping our local economies thrive.
As the cost of gas, groceries, and utilities continue to soar, we should be focused on increasing economic opportunity for all Ohioans, not setting working families back further.”
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the administration could end TPS for at least 450,000 Haitian migrants who had been granted protections under President Joe Biden. The court said federal law bars judicial review of TPS termination decisions, stating that the statute allows “no judicial review” of determinations involving the termination of a TPS designation.
The ruling means Haitian migrants affected by the decision will lose work permits, access to government aid, driver’s licenses, and legal residency. It also means employers could face fines if they continue employing workers who lose authorization.
Brown’s statement follows previous comments by him and Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) opposing the end of TPS for Haitians. In January, Brown called on the administration to extend TPS for Ohio’s Haitian community, writing, “Haitian Americans don’t have a safe place to return to in Haiti and our communities across Ohio depend on them to help our local economy thrive.” Brown also called on DeWine, Husted, and Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) to “Put Ohio communities first and join my call to extend TPS for the Haitian community.”
DeWine said on CBS’s Face the Nation that revoking the status would be “wrong.” He argued that Haitians in Springfield helped fill jobs that employers said could not otherwise be filled and said ending TPS would leave employers unable to hire them.
The issue has been especially prominent in Springfield, Ohio, where the arrival of thousands of Haitians became a major political flashpoint during the 2024 election. Breitbart News reported that Springfield’s per capita income and median household income were below the state average, its poverty rate was higher than Ohio’s overall rate, housing costs rose sharply after 2020 amid higher demand and limited inventory, and Temporary Protected Status allowed up to 15,000 Haitians in Springfield to sign up for programs such as SNAP, Medicaid, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, with 5,279 applications for aid approved for Haitians by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
Brown voted to terminate Trump’s national emergency declaration for construction of the border wall and voted to convict Trump in both impeachment trials. Signal Ohio reporter Andrew Tobias reported in January that Brown said ICE “needs to be ‘radically redone,’” called for DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to be fired, and said, “Bringing ICE in means that these communities are less safe.”
Brown has sought to present himself as a populist focused on working families, but Breitbart News reported that he received nearly $400,000 from lobbyists and corporate PACs tied to major health insurance companies that benefit from his support for enhanced Obamacare subsidies. He also took at least $4,887,980 from donors affiliated with Wall Street, major financial institutions, investment firms, and billionaires while criticizing Wall Street and billionaire influence in politics.
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