NORTH MIAMI, FLA. (WSVN) - A North Miami church joined the nationwide “Day of Action” movement in pushing for the restoration of temporary protected status for Haitians in the United States.
On Sunday, faith leaders and immigration advocates gathered at the Haitian Evangelical Baptist Church in North Miami, joining for those families who are too afraid to leave their homes in fear of detention or deportation.
“Many of our membership stay home,” said Rev. Dr. Frantz David Eugene, Senior Pastor of the Haitian Evangelical Baptist Church. “And it’s not only this church, but it’s the majority of our churches.”
The message of Sunday’s gathering was to “Hold onto hope.”
“They are scared of going in the street or in the supermarket or to the drug store because they will be apprehended by ICE,” said Eugene.
One TPS holder spoke to 7News saying the uncertainty has changed his everyday life, even in being afraid to appear on camera.
“Being a TPS holder has been really, really scary,” he said. “…At times you wanna go out, get your things done, but you can’t.”
Organizers of Sunday’s event are calling on the Senate to advance S. 4814, a bill that would require the Homeland Security secretary to designate Haiti for TPS through early 2029.
“Most of our churches, we voted conservative, and this is not what we voted for,” said Eugene. “We hope that they could could hear our voices because lecturers have consequences.”
Families at the event say this fight is about being able to work, worship and live without fear.
“We are also human, after all,” said the anonymous TPS holder. “And everyone deserves to live, right? And I think the same way some of the Americans who have been born here, raised here, they had education, the same way as some Haitians did deserve that as well.”
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