Haitian migrants have turned to religion amid the looming threat of deportation under the presidency of Donald Trump – who accused them of eating their neighbors’ pets on the campaign trail.
The First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield, Ohio was jam-packed with parishioners on the first Sunday service since President Trump’s inauguration.
‘I asked God to protect my people,’ Reverend Reginald Silencieux said after the service.
‘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.’
The town was thrust into the national spotlight during the presidential campaign when Trump accused Haitians in Springfield of eating their neighbor’s cats and dogs.
Now, migrants in the community are concerned that they will be targeted and sent packing, as Trump authorizes ICE raids across the nation.
Many had come to receive a blessing and hear guidance on how to deal with federal agents in case of raids stemming from President Trump’s crackdown on immigration.
Other congregants stayed home out of fear and growing uncertainty.
The First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield, Ohio was jam-packed with parishioners on the first Sunday service since President Trump’s inauguration
Haitian migrants have turned to religion amid the increasing threat of deportation under Donald Trump ‘s presidency
Community leaders say many of Springfield’s estimated 15,000 Haitians are overwhelmed by fears Trump will end or let expire the Temporary Protected Status program that allows them to remain in the U.S. legally.
‘The community is panicking.’ Viles Dorsainvil, leader of Springfield’s Haitian Community Help and Support Center, told AP.
‘They see the arrests on TV in other parts of the country and they don’t know what’s going to happen.
‘The majority of immigrants in the U.S.A. are not criminals, and they’re hard-working people.’
But anti-immigrant sentiment has been on the rise in Springfield after rumors spread that cats and dogs were being stolen – and eaten – by Haitian migrant communities.
The rumors spread like wildfire following a social media post in September 2024 that a local cat had been mutilated and exacerbated fears in the mostly white, blue-collar city of about 59,000.
Trump repeated the rumor, and additionally claimed dogs were also being eaten, at his debate with Kamala Harris and in the weeks that followed, schools, government buildings and the homes of elected officials were targeted with dozens of bomb threats.
Rev. Reginald Silencieux kneels to pray, surrounded by the choir and worship team
Congregants worship together at the First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield
Some of Springfield’s estimated 15,000 Haitians are seeking solace and divine intervention in their churches
‘Before, we had a different type of fear – it was a fear of retaliation, whether it was the far right, the Proud Boys,’ Haitian community leader Jacob Payne said.
Payne also owns Milokan Botanica, a religious shop that sells Haitian spiritual and natural healing products, and is guiding locals with immigration forms, employment authorization cards and questions on their TPS applications.
‘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 said.
One Haitian community member, 50-year-old Brutus Joseph, said in Creole through an interpreter that he and his wife are no longer sleeping because they’re so fearful.
‘My wife and I can’t even sleep because we’re so worried,’ he said.
‘We’re law-abiding citizens — all we did is to be Haitian. We didn’t think we’d be treated like this by the (Trump) administration. I’m praying to God that the president changes his mind.’
Joseph especially worries about the future for his five children, including one who is a senior in high school in Springfield and plans to attend college this year.
‘If I leave here, there’s no future for my children. My children can get raped and killed if I go back, so I have everything to lose,’ he said, making an appeal to Trump as a fellow family man who is married to an immigrant.
Trump’s 2024 campaign focused heavily on illegal immigration, often referring in his speeches to crimes committed by migrants.
Trump’s 2024 campaign focused heavily on illegal immigration, often referring in his speeches to crimes committed by migrants
Between selling religious candles and spiritual ointments, Payne guided customers with immigration forms, employment authorization cards and questions on their TPS applications
The town was thrust under national spotlight during the presidential campaign when Trump accused Haitians in Springfield of eating their neighbor’s cats and dogs
Thousands of temporary Haitian migrants legally arrived in Springfield in recent years under the TPS program, as longstanding unrest in their home country has given way 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,’ said Romane Pierre, 41, who settled in Springfield in 2020 under 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,’ said Pierre, who works at the Rose Gaute, a popular Haitian restaurant in Springfield. ‘So where do you go back to?’
The TPS, which allows him and thousands of others to remain legally in Springfield, expires on February 2026. He still hopes Trump will keep in mind the violence in Haiti and renew it.
‘Think about Haitians because Haiti is not a place to return to right now,’ he said. ‘God, talk to Mr. Trump and do something for Haitians.’
