American Baptist Churches USA has administered tens of thousands of dollars in emergency assistance to Haitian communities besieged by federal immigration actions since losing Temporary Protected Status.
The denomination’s American Baptist Home Mission Societies announced it has provided $135,000 through 27 grants averaging $5,000 apiece to ABCUSA churches and ministries serving Haitian immigrants in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
The Trump administration upended the lives of Haitians who entered the United States legally by terminating TPS designations effective July 27. The move subjects as many as 350,000 Haitian immigrants nationwide to detention and deportation.
TPS was created by Congress in 1990 to provide immigrants fleeing armed conflict, oppression or natural disaster temporary legal status, including the right to work.
Jeffrey Haggray
The development comes amid President Donald Trump’s aggressive detention and deportation campaign against immigrants, including asylum seekers and refugees. Numerous religious groups — such as ABCUSA, the Alliance of Baptists and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship — have sued to prevent the Department of Homeland Security from conducting immigration enforcement actions in or around sensitive locations such as houses of worship, schools and hospitals.
But the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way in June for the Trump administration to expand its anti-immigrant campaign by terminating TPS for an estimated 1 million immigrants from more than a dozen countries including Afghanistan, Honduras, Nicaragua, Yemen, Syria, Somalia and Burma.
ABHM said it is has received $174,000 in requests for emergency assistance and is seeking to raise $250,000 to cover the growing need among the denomination’s 80 Haitian American Baptist congregations.
“People are afraid to leave home, and pastors are being asked for answers no pastor can provide alone.”
“For ABHMS, accompaniment means staying present when people’s lives become precarious and helping our churches turn compassion into practical care,” said Jeffrey Haggray, executive director of the society. “We cannot determine the legal outcome for any individual or family, but we can stand with our churches as they feed people, help keep families housed, connect them with trustworthy resources, and provide practical support during a time of profound uncertainty.”
Mario Joseph
American Baptist churches and pastors have been reporting stark consequences for the Haitians immigrants they serve, including loss of jobs and health insurance, fears of detention and deportation and a growing reluctance to attend worship, said Mario Joseph, ABHMS partner liaison for Haitian communities.
“The legal questions are complicated, but what pastors see every day is very concrete. Someone has lost the ability to work. A family is worried about paying rent or buying groceries. Parents are asking what will happen to their children if they are detained. People are afraid to leave home, and pastors are being asked for answers no pastor can provide alone.”
Joseph urged congregations serving targeted immigrants to form crisis teams to assess needs and to connect people with community resources including counseling and legal aid. Families can render aid by caring for immigrants’ children and helping those with loved ones who have been detained or deported, Joseph said.
“The church does not replace an immigration lawyer, a social worker or other professionals families may need. But the church can help individuals and families find reliable information, identify qualified assistance, develop practical plans and meet immediate needs.”