The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles previously extended TPS-holders’ license expiration date through March 15 when TPS did not expire on Feb. 3 after five Haitian TPS holders filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of the process the Department of Homeland Security secretary used to make the determination to end the program.
With the status valid at least until the Supreme Court makes a ruling, it is unclear if the BMV will extend the March 15 license expiration date but it “hasn’t really budged” thus far, Gibson said.
ABLE has received reports that some people paid for applications to extend their licenses through March 15 but those were never fully processed, Gibson said.
“We are looking into that because it is a big concern,” Gibson said. “I know a lot of people fall into that category of people and we’ve had a lot of questions about it.”
Anyone in this situation will not be allowed to continue to drive as far as ABLE is aware, Gibson said.
“We really caution people from driving without a license or even if they’re unsure whether their is going to be extended,” she said. “Our advice is to try to find some alternate transportation. We know that there are volunteers through G92 and and Springfield Neighbors United, and there’s also the local public transportation system. We recommend that people look to those as options instead of driving without a license.”
Springfield’s public transportation system is Field Trips, which has rides on-demand that can be called through the Field Trips app or phone call. Those with mobility considerations can pre-book rides for door-to-door service.
Typical rides cost $2, and Field Trips Assist paratransits cost $4. Discounted rides cost $1. Service hours are Monday through Friday from 6:40 a.m. to 6:40 p.m. The service is for the entire city and up to three-fourths of a mile outside city limits.
The hours and unavailability outside of city limits makes the system unfeasible for some immigrants who work later hours or don’t work in Springfield, some meeting attendees noted.
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
With TPS extended for now, Gibson said anyone with a pending asylum application who has either applied for a work permit based on asylum or has a work permit based on asylum can obtain a driver’s license using the receipt showing they applied or the work permit itself. She said that is a more stable option to obtain a driver’s license than basing the application off of TPS, which is more in flux.
Casey Rollins, executive director of St. Vincent de Paul in Springfield, said every Haitian immigrant who applied at the Springfield BMV for the March 15 extension was placed on a “secondary hold” while DHS used a manual process as it was shut down when Congress failed to come to an agreement to fund the agency.
While these people were put on a “secondary hold” they should still continue the process as ABLE and other organizations look into the situation, Gibson said.
Attorneys for the Haitian TPS holders, and district court and appellate court judges, say there is convincing evidence that the secretary did not take the statutorily required steps before deciding to revoke the country’s designation. A Springfield nurse is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
The federal government says the economic hardships and the disruption that TPS holders claim will happen if they lose legal protections are the inherent risks involved with what is by design supposed to be a temporary program.
The government also has tried to end TPS for Venezuela, Nepal, Honduras, Nicaragua, Afghanistan, Cameroon, Burma, Syria, Ethiopia, Somalia, Yemen and South Sudan.
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