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Southern Ohio Episcopalians continue support for Haitian immigrants as Trump administration seeks to end protected status

February 03, 2026

[Episcopal News Service] Episcopal clergy from the Cincinnati-based Diocese of Southern Ohio were among hundreds of people who gathered Feb. 2 in Springfield to support Haitian immigrants as their protected status in the United States was set to end close to midnight. Their status remains legal for now, after a federal judge later that same day temporarily blocked its end.  The early morning ecumenical gathering at St. John Missionary Baptist Church featured dozens of Christian leaders, including Southern Ohio Bishop Kristin Uffelman White, who led the audience in prayer and song. “At 9 a.m. on a Monday, all the seats were full, and people kept coming in to support their Haitian neighbors. It was extraordinary to witness,” White, who spoke at the gathering, told Episcopal News Service. Supporters filled St. John Missionary Baptist Church to its 788-person capacity, and hundreds gathered outside, White said. Temporary Protected Status is a federal humanitarian program that allows people from select countries to reside legally and work in the United States if problems in their home country make returning untenable. Designations last for periods of six, 12 or 18 months, but can be continuously renewed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The United States has designated Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with Temporary Protected Status since 2010, when a 7-magnitude earthquake devastated the country. Haiti, located west of the Dominican Republic on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean, has been further destabilized by the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, civil unrest and gang violence. In 2021, the country suffered another major earthquake, and its president, Jovenel Moïse, was assassinated. The Biden administration last renewed Haitians’ Temporary Protected Status in June 2024.  In his first year in office, President Donald Trump removed protected status from several countries, including Afghanistan, Nepal and Venezuela. He had planned to let Haiti’s designation expire on Feb. 3 at 11:59 p.m., putting some 350,000 Haitians at risk for deportation. Those plans were put on hold late on Feb. 2 after a federal judge temporarily blocked the end of Haiti’s protected status. “I’m still holding my breath and waiting to see what the coming days are going to bring. …How long will it take until the government finds a judge that’s willing to accept whatever argument they offer, and TPS ends anyway?” the Rev. Michelle Boomgaard, rector of Christ Episcopal Church in Springfield, told ENS. “There’s too much unknown at this time.” A few Haitian families are members of Christ Episcopal Church, Boomgaard said. The Port-au-Prince-based Diocese of Haiti is the largest in The Episcopal Church by membership. Haitian immigrants began settling in Springfield in 2014 after the city launched a “Welcome Springfield” campaign to attract foreign-born residents to move, work and boost the local economy. Today, city officials estimate that about 12,000-15,000 Haitian immigrants live in Springfield, a city located in southwestern Ohio about 45 miles west of Columbus, the capital, and 25 miles east of Dayton. “For a while, Springfield was a declining Rust Belt city. … Employers couldn’t find any workers until the Haitians came to fill those jobs. Over the last few years, we’ve seen a bit of a resurgence,” Boomgaard said. “If you stopped the clock two years ago and looked at Springfield, you would have said, ‘This is a resurrection story.’” That “resurrection story” Boomgaard described “reversed” in September 2024, when Trump and Vice President JD Vance falsely claimed on the campaign trail that some Haitian migrants were abducting and eating Springfield residents’ pets. The sudden national attention on Springfield led to bomb threats, forcing the closure of several schools in the city. Additional threats disrupted city and other government agencies. Individuals who support the city’s Haitian communities reported being harassed by phone and email. “Things have calmed down since then, but we’re worried that our Haitian neighbors will be threatened again as their TPS status remains up in the air,” Boomgaard said. Boomgaard, who herself is the daughter of immigrants from the Netherlands, said she’s been thinking of the story of Pentecost as Springfield residents advocate for the Haitian community. “God gives each of the disciples the ability to tell his love and miraculous works in their mother language,” she said. “I think of the immigrants in Springfield and everywhere else who are always being pushed around and trying to find ways around their struggles. We need to keep showing them God’s universal love.” -Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.