2 Ohio pastors emerge as faithful allies for Haitian migrants during Trump’s crackdown

Two Pastors Unite to Support Haitian Migrants in Ohio Amid Immigration Crackdown

In the heart of Springfield, Ohio, two unlikely allies have emerged as steadfast defenders of the city’s Haitian immigrant community. Reginald Silencieux, who grew up amid poverty and violence in Haiti, and Carl Ruby, a self-described “blue-collar farm kid” from Michigan, have forged a powerful partnership driven by their shared faith and commitment to supporting migrants.

The pastors’ mission took on greater urgency after former President Donald Trump falsely claimed during a 2024 campaign that Springfield’s Haitian migrants were eating local residents’ pets. The baseless accusations inflamed anti-immigrant sentiment and unleashed a wave of threats against the community.

“Both of them have been great leaders,” says Viles Dorsainvil, executive director of the Haitian Community Help and Support Center in Springfield. “They’ve put their lives at risk to support and welcome migrants.”

In the aftermath of Trump’s comments, schools, government buildings, and homes of elected officials received dozens of bomb threats. The pastors themselves became targets. Yet instead of retreating, they intensified their efforts, offering their churches as sanctuaries and organizing community prayers and peaceful protests against the harmful rumors.

Silencieux, who leads the First Haitian Evangelical Church, came to Springfield in 2021 when Haitian immigrants began arriving to fill labor shortages in the city’s growing manufacturing sector. Despite speaking no English initially and leaving his family behind in Haiti, he quickly established himself as a spiritual anchor for the community.

“Life in Haiti was not easy. But it shaped my character,” Silencieux reflects. “It taught me perseverance, responsibility, and the importance of community.”

The Haitian migrants in Springfield arrived legally under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program, which the U.S. government extended to Haitians following the devastating 2010 earthquake. As Haiti continues to struggle with political instability and gang violence, the program has been renewed several times.

However, the Trump administration has pushed to end TPS protections, claiming conditions in Haiti have improved — a position contradicted by recent reports of escalating gang violence in the Caribbean nation. While a federal judge recently ruled to temporarily maintain these protections, the community lives with constant uncertainty.

Ruby, pastor of Central Christian Church, came to his advocacy from a different path. Growing up in a Baptist family in rural Michigan, he spent most of his life identifying as an evangelical Republican with no connections to Haiti or its people.

His involvement began in 2023 after a tragic accident where a Haitian driver hit a school bus, killing a child and injuring dozens. When local city council meetings erupted with racist comments, Ruby felt compelled to speak up.

“All I said was, ‘We need to remember that there are advantages of having immigrants come into our community; they’re good people,'” Ruby recalls. “And I immediately became the friend of Haitians in town and the enemy of anti-immigrant people in town.”

Ruby traces his commitment to social justice to a pivotal moment fifteen years earlier when, as vice president of student life at Cedarville University, he led students on a tour of civil rights landmarks, including the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham where four Black girls were killed in a 1963 KKK bombing.

There, he encountered Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” addressed to clergy who had urged King to delay civil rights demonstrations. “I made a commitment to myself that I wouldn’t do that; that if there were an opportunity for me to use my voice to help someone who was being oppressed, that I wouldn’t be silent,” Ruby says.

Together, the pastors have implemented practical solutions for Springfield’s Haitian community. They’ve organized training sessions to document potential immigration raids, provided legal assistance, distributed food aid, and offered worship services in Creole alongside English-language classes.

In February, Ruby helped organize an interfaith gathering where hundreds packed a local church to sing and pray in support of Haitians — so many that the fire marshal had to ask people to leave. “Outside beautiful events with my family, it was the most beautiful day of my life,” Ruby says.

Despite the challenges and personal threats they’ve faced, both pastors remain steadfast in their mission. When Silencieux speaks to his congregation, he encourages them to maintain their faith even in uncertainty. “The president is our president. He can take decisions. But he is limited,” he reminds them. “God is unlimited.”

As Springfield’s Haitian community continues to navigate an uncertain future, Ruby remains cautiously optimistic. “I think God’s going to bless our city for doing the right thing,” he says, underscoring that their movement is fundamentally rooted in faith. “God loves immigrants, and part of demonstrating that you’re one of God’s people is taking care of immigrants.”