The event was held less than 48 hours before TPS was expected to expire for potentially thousands of Springfield-area Haitians, putting their ability to legally live and work in the U.S. at risk.
It featured faith leaders both local and national, who shared messages of unity and compassion, while outlining several passages in the Bible that advocate for loving the oppressed and welcoming the stranger.
“We must understand that welcoming immigrants is as important as welcoming Christ himself, and that rejecting them, as in Christ’s own teaching, is a form of rejecting him,” Pastor Carl Ruby of Central Christian Church said. “These are not my words; they’re his.”
The church was packed with an estimated 1,200 people. Hundreds were asked to leave and watch a livestream per the fire marshal’s instructions.
Conditions in Haiti have deteriorated since TPS was first designated for the country. The U.S. State Department currently warns against traveling to the country “due to kidnapping, crime, terrorist activity, civil unrest, and limited health care.”
Area Haitian leader Vilès Dorsainvil said that Haitians cannot safely return to the country besieged by gang violence. He pointed to a United Nations report that says Haiti is facing a security crisis, with more than 1.2 million people internally displaced, which he said is the highest number in the country’s history.
“Even basic movement, going to school, to work or the hospital, is life threatening. This violence has created an unprecedented humanitarian disaster,” Dorsainvil said.
Guerline Jozef, founder of the national organization the Haitian Bridge Alliance, said that half a million Haitian lives “hang in the balance.”
“Half a million Haitians who have been calling this United States our home; some of them two years, four years, many of us 20-plus years,” Jozef said.
She asked the federal government for “dignity” and compassion for those in need. If TPS is not extended, Jozef said the country will see one of the “major family separations in modern history.”
“We are going to see over 100,000 U.S. born children being ripped from their families. We are going to witness those children when their parents are taken and deported without any support,” Jozef said. “What we are asking and demanding and urging and praying for is to keep those families together.”
Springfield is believed to have at least 1,300 children born in the country to Haitian immigrant parents, according to the Clark County Combined Health District. Efforts to obtain passports are ongoing to prevent family separation, though some are facing the tough decision whether to leave their children behind rather than bring them to an unstable, dangerous country.
TPS ending
Temporary Protected Status, the legal way by which many of Springfield’s estimated 10,000-15,000 Haitians are in the country legally, is set to end at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 3 after a failed attempt by the Trump administration to end it sooner.
If TPS status for Haitians is not renewed, hundreds of thousands of Haitian immigrants in the country will be living here illegally.
Statements in support of the Haitian community’s contribution to the city and for TPS to be redesignated were often met with standing ovations and cheers.
“This is what unity looks like,” Springfield NAACP President Denise Williams said, referring to the large congregation. She referred to Psalm 23:4 and urged people to embrace God in times of challenge.
Many praised Haitian immigrants’ contributions to the economy, schools, churches and the community at large
Pastor Jose Salas of Iglesia Hispana Emanuel in Springfield referred to a story in the Bible about Jesus asking for water from a well and a woman there questioning how he could do so as a foreigner. He said she would not have hesitated if she knew what Jesus would do, and encouraged a similar mindset now. Salas gave Dorsainvil a glass of water, a gesture met with enthusiastic support from the crowd.
Salas’ congregation is made up of many immigrants and he said he hoped the event Monday would encourage those who were anxious, fearful and depressed about the immigration situation in the country.
A statement from Archbishop Robert G. Casey of Cincinnati read by Father Chris Komoroski said that the times are “increasingly divisive and disturbing,” referring to the “uncertain future” faced by immigrants.
“All of humanity possesses a dignity given to us as God’s creation. Each of us, no matter our race, language, or creed, has been created in God’s image and likeness, only with this conviction of our sacred and shared identity as God’s sons and daughters, and we hope to only proclaim the possibility of peace amidst the uproar of these distressing times,” the archbishop stated.
The Rev. Kenny Felix, of Southern Baptist Church in Miami and president of the National Haitian Fellowship, said immigrants “have always been one of the main agents of the U.S. economic systems and have contributed to its growth over time,” expanding the workforce, driving innovation and starting businesses.
“I’m not just talking about those of today, but we could go way back, way back – perhaps even including those who came first, came on the Mayflower, and I’m not sure if they had visas there," Felix said.
DIG INTO OUR HAITIAN COVERAGE
Clark County Sheriff’s Office to ‘maintain the peace’ as TPS ends, will not enforce immigration laws
WATCH: Haitian restaurant in Springfield struggles as federal protections near expiration
• What’s coming?: After some initially warned of an anticipated 30-day ICE surge following the end of TPS, school and state officials stressed they have had no direct communication with the feds about potential enforcement actions, but they are preparing for the possibility.
• A community in fear: Reporter Cornelius Frolik traveled the streets of Springfield with a translator and spoke to more than a dozen Haitian people living and working in the Springfield area. Most of them expressed feelings of uncertainty and dread about the TPS cancellation.
• Lawsuits: Area Haitians on TPS are pinning their hopes on a couple of lawsuits that challenge the legality of the federal government’s decision to cancel the TPS designation for Haiti. Here are the details on those lawsuits, including one involving a Springfield man.
• Keket: Our reporters sat down with a local restaurant owner concerned that immigration enforcement fears could close her business. Her compelling personal story is captured in writing and video here.
• Residents prepare: More than 80 people took part in an educational event at Zion Hill Baptist Church in Springfield Thursday evening, learning about their rights and those of their neighbors regardless of immigration status.
• Law enforcement: Local law enforcement officials say they will work to “maintain the peace” amid any ICE surge, but they won’t enforce federal immigration law.
• City leaders: The Springfield City Commission unanimously passed a resolution asking federal immigration agents to follow local rules when conducting enforcement activities.
• Politicians react: Our statehouse reporter Avery Kreemer reached out to politicians who represent Dayton and Springfield at the state and national level about their views on ending TPS and an ICE surge. Read that story here.
• How we got here: We have been reporting on the growth of the Haitian population in Springfield and its effect on the community for years. This story from the archive explains why so many Haitians relocated to Springfield, Ohio.
• Community survey: In addition to reporters interviewing residents on the street, we created an online survey to gather community perspective. I’ll have a summary of responses in an upcoming story.
• Dayton action: Several Dayton restaurants and other businesses closed Friday and hundreds of people gathered in front of U.S. Rep. Mike Turner’s Dayton office as part of the nationwide protest of ICE operations.
• VIDEO: What to know about Haitian immigration in Springfield
• VIDEO: Haitian immigrant community grows in Springfield
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