Haitian migrants have turned to religion amid the rising threat of deportation under Donald Trump's presidency.
The First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield, Ohio was packed with parishioners during its first Sunday service since President Trump's inauguration.
The city was thrust into the national spotlight during the presidential campaign when Trump accused Haitians in Springfield of eating their neighbors' cats and dogs.
Now, migrants in the community are concerned they will be targeted and turned away as Trump authorizes ICE raids across the country.
“I asked God to protect my people,” the Rev. Reginald Silencieux said after the service.
“I prayed especially for the Haitian community, and I also prayed for the US because Trump is our president. As a church we have a duty to pray for him because he is our political leader at this time.”
Many had come to receive a blessing and to hear advice on how to deal with federal agents in the event of raids resulting from President Trump's immigration crackdown.
Other congregants stayed home out of fear and growing uncertainty.
The First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield, Ohio was packed with parishioners for the first Sunday service since President Trump's inauguration
Haitian migrants have turned to religion amid the rising threat of deportation under Donald Trump's presidency
Community leaders say many of Springfield's estimated 15,000 Haitians are overwhelmed by fear that Trump will end or allow the Temporary Protected Status program, which allows them to remain in the U.S. legally, to expire.
“The community is in panic.” Viles Dorsainvil, leader of Springfield's Haitian Community Assistance and Support Center, told AP.
'They see the arrests on TV in other parts of the country and don't know what will happen.
“The majority of immigrants in the US are not criminals, but hardworking people.”
But anti-immigrant sentiment is on the rise in Springfield after rumors spread that cats and dogs were being stolen — and eaten — by Haitian migrant communities.
Rumors spread like wildfire after a social media post in September 2024 that a local cat had been mutilated, exacerbating fears in the largely white, working-class city of about 59,000.
Trump repeated the rumor, claiming that dogs were also eaten during 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 First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield
Some of Springfield's estimated 15,000 Haitians are seeking solace and divine intervention in their churches
“We used to have a different kind of fear: it was the fear of retaliation, whether it was the far right, the Proud Boys,” said Haitian community leader Jacob Payne.
Payne also owns Milokan Botanica, a religious store that sells Haitian spiritual and natural healing products, and guides locals with immigration forms, employment authorization cards and questions about their TPS applications.
'Now there is fear of deportation. “That has stopped a lot of people from going out and has caused a lot of people to leave,” he said.
A member of the Haitian community, 50-year-old Brutus Joseph, said through an interpreter in Creole that he and his wife no longer sleep because they are so afraid.
“My wife and I can't even sleep because we're so worried,” he said.
“We are law-abiding citizens, all we have done is be Haitian. We didn't think we would be treated like this by the (Trump) administration. I pray to God that the president will change his mind.”
Joseph is especially concerned about the future of 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 will be no future for my children. My children could be raped and killed if I go back, so I have everything to lose,” he said, appealing to Trump as a homebody married to an immigrant.
Trump's 2024 campaign focused heavily on illegal immigration, often referring to crimes committed by migrants in his speeches.
Trump's 2024 campaign focused heavily on illegal immigration, often referring to crimes committed by migrants in his speeches
In between selling religious candles and spiritual salves, Payne guided customers with immigration forms, employment authorization cards and questions about their TPS applications
The city was thrust into the national spotlight during the presidential campaign when Trump accused Haitians in Springfield of eating their neighbors' cats and dogs.
Thousands of temporary Haitian migrants have arrived legally in Springfield in recent years under the TPS program, as longstanding unrest in their home countries has given way to violent gangs controlling the streets.
“Everything has changed because Trump is president. People are scared right now. Most of them stay at home — they don't want to go out,” 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 are you going?”
The TPS, which allows him and thousands of others to legally reside in Springfield, expires in February 2026. He still hopes Trump will remember the violence in Haiti and resume it.
“Think of the Haitians, because Haiti is not a place to return to right now,” he said. “God, talk to Mr. Trump and do something for the Haitians.”
