Pilgrimage demanding ICE stop using ankle monitors kicks off in Ohio | PHOTOS

Haitian residents and faith leaders are walking more than 40 miles from Springfield to Columbus, demanding an end to ICE enforcement practices, family separations and uncertainty over immigration protections. The post Pilgrimage demanding ICE stop using ankle monitors kicks off in Ohio | PHOTOS appe

22 octobre 2026

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Pilgrimage demanding ICE stop using ankle monitors kicks off in Ohio | PHOTOS

HaitiCreoleRadio.com

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SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Haitian residents, faith leaders and immigrant advocates kicked off a four-day pilgrimage from Springfield to Columbus Wednesday, calling for an end to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) practices harming families and spreading fear throughout the community.

Covering more than 40 miles, according to organizers, some Haitians fitted with the ankle monitors are participating to emphasize the “humiliating” feel of the ICE tactic. Each day, they will stop overnight at a church, then resume the walk during the daytime.

Kicking off from Springfield City Plaza, the pilgrimage is scheduled to conclude Oct. 24 with a rally at West Bank Park in Columbus.

Organizers said called for four actions:

End the ankle monitor program
Remove ICE from Springfield
Reunite detained Haitians with their families
Establish permanent protections for Haitian immigrants

The pilgrimage comes amid heightened uncertainty following the termination of Haiti’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation. A June Supreme Court ruling that cleared the way for the administration to end TPS in July 27 has invalidated the legal status of an estimated 350,000 Haitians and their work permits. In Springfield, some former TPS holders were required to surrender their passports and wear ankle monitors after immigration check-ins.

Here are some photos from the first day of the pilgrimage.

All photos are by Steven Pavey / Hope in Focus.

Marchers kick off a 40-mile procession in Springfield, Ohio, demanding an end to ICE tactics harming Haitian families on Wednesday, October 21, 2026.

A Haitian immigrant fitted with an ankle monitor was among those in the 40-mile procession in Springfield, Ohio, on Wednesday, October 21, 2026. Photo by Steve Pavey, used with courtesy — A Haitian immigrant fitted with an ankle monitor was among those in the 40-mile procession in Springfield, Ohio, on Wednesday, October 21, 2026.

A Haitian marcher holds a placard during the 40-mile procession in Springfield, Ohio, on Wednesday, October 21, 2026.

Procession participants pose for a photo during the pilgrimage in Springfield, Ohio, demanding an end to ICE tactics harming Haitian families on Wednesday, October 21, 2026.

A group of Haitian clergy pose for a photo during the pilgrimage kickoff in Springfield, Ohio, demanding an end to ICE tactics harming Haitian families on Wednesday, October 21, 2026.

Days prior, a similarly-themed procession took place in New York’s Little Haiti neighborhood on Oct. 17. Bishop Robert Brennan joined nearly 300 people in marching through the streets of Flatbush in Brooklyn to call for the dignity of immigrants to be respected.

Marchers began the procession at St. Jerome Roman Catholic Church in Little Haiti, observed the Stations of the Cross and continued to St. Thérèse of Lisieux several blocks west and concluded at St. Vincent Ferrer.