By Luis Andres Henao and Jessie Wardarski | Related Press
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — On the finish of his Sunday service, the pastor of the First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield, Ohio, requested ushers and musicians to kind a circle round him as he knelt in prayer, flanked by the flags of Haiti and the USA.
Many had come to obtain his blessing and listen to his steering on learn how to cope with federal brokers in case of raids stemming from President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration. Different congregants stayed dwelling out of concern and rising uncertainty.
“I asked God to protect my people,” the Rev. Reginald Silencieux mentioned after the service, reflecting on his remaining prayer. “I prayed especially for the Haitian community, and I prayed for U.S.A. too, because Trump is our president. As a church, we have an obligation to pray for him because he’s our political leader right now.”
A few of Springfield’s estimated 15,000 Haitians are looking for solace and divine intervention of their church buildings or at retailers that promote religious merchandise. Neighborhood leaders say many are overwhelmed by fears Trump will finish or let expire the Momentary Protected Standing program that enables them to stay within the U.S. legally.
“The community is panicking.” mentioned Viles Dorsainvil, the chief of Springfield’s Haitian Neighborhood Assist and Help Heart. “They see the arrests on TV in other parts of the country and they don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Final 12 months, Trump falsely accused Haitians in Springfield of consuming their neighbor’s cats and canine. The false rumors exacerbated fears about division and anti-immigrant sentiment within the principally white, blue-collar metropolis of about 59,000.
Within the weeks after his feedback, colleges, authorities buildings and the houses of elected officers have been focused with dozens of bomb threats.
“Before, we had a different type of fear — it was a fear of retaliation, whether it was the far right, the Proud Boys,” mentioned Jacob Payne, a Haitian neighborhood chief and proprietor of Milokan Botanica, a spiritual store that sells Haitian religious and pure therapeutic merchandise.
“Now, there’s a fear of deportation. That keeps a lot of people from going out and has caused a lot of people to have left,” he mentioned, pointing to the often busy business plaza the place his enterprise is positioned and that was now extra quiet than common.
The migration issues of clergy and different neighborhood members in Springfield are shared by many religion leaders nationwide. In a number of cities, together with New York, Philadelphia and Portland, Oregon, interfaith teams are discussing learn how to present safety and assist to migrants of their communities, together with those that are undocumented.
Throughout his first administration, Trump used bluntly vulgar language to query why the U.S. would settle for immigrants from Haiti and “shithole countries” in Africa. His 2024 marketing campaign centered closely on unlawful immigration, usually referring in his speeches to crimes dedicated by migrants.
Hundreds of non permanent Haitian migrants have legally landed in Springfield lately below the TPS program, as longstanding unrest of their dwelling nation has given method to violent gangs ruling the streets.
“Everything changed because Trump is president. People are scared right now. Most are staying in their homes — they don’t want to go outside,” mentioned Romane Pierre, 41, who settled in Springfield in 2020 below the TPS program after fleeing violence in his native Haiti.
“I love my country, but you can’t live there; it’s terrible right now,” mentioned Pierre, who works on the Rose Gaute, a well-liked Haitian restaurant in Springfield. “So where do you go back to?”
Final 12 months, his 8-year-old daughter obtained ailing in the midst of the night time. Gunshots rang of their neighborhood within the capital of Port-Au-Prince, and her mom felt it was too harmful to take her to the hospital. She died within the morning in entrance of the hospital entrance. Pierre couldn’t get a allow on time to return for her funeral.
“Sometimes, life is difficult,” he mentioned pensively on a break from work.
The TPS, which permits him and hundreds of others to stay legally in Springfield, expires on February 2026. He nonetheless hopes Trump will bear in mind the violence in Haiti and renew it.
“Think about Haitians because Haiti is not a place to return to right now,” he mentioned. “God, talk to Mr. Trump and do something for Haitians.”
The migrants’ fears have been echoed by the president of Haiti’s transitional presidential council, who mentioned the Trump administration’s selections to freeze help applications, deport migrants and block refugees might be “catastrophic” for Haiti.
Leslie Voltaire made the remark in an interview with The Related Press in Rome on Saturday following a gathering with Pope Francis on the Vatican.
The pontiff and Voltaire mentioned the dire state of affairs in Haiti the place gangs have killed civilians and function throughout the Caribbean nation with impunity. Half of Haiti’s 11.4 million persons are already hungry, in line with Voltaire, and dropping humanitarian help will make the state of affairs dramatically worse.
Related Press faith protection receives assist by means of the AP’s collaboration with The Dialog US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely chargeable for this content material.
Initially Revealed: January 26, 2025 at 1:43 PM PST
