SPRINGFIELD, OHIO — One of them grew up in rural Haiti amid poverty and violence in his beautiful but troubled Caribbean country. The other, who grew up in Michigan, describes himself as a “blue-collar farm kid” from Middle America.
They both became ministers in Springfield, Ohio. They both share a goal inspired by their faith: supporting Haitian immigrants in the city who fear deportation amid President Donald Trump’s ongoing crackdown on immigration.
Reginald Silencio, pastor of First Evangelical Church of Haiti, and Carl Ruby, pastor of Central Christian Church, share a common cause — and a mutual respect for each other. They both defended Haitians when Trump falsely accused Haitian immigrants in Springfield Who ate their neighbors’ cats and dogs in 2024.
They offered them shelter in their churches and Invited community members To join in prayer and peaceful protest against false rumors that have exacerbated anti-immigrant fears.
In the weeks following Trump’s comments, schools, government buildings and the homes of elected officials received dozens of such comments Bomb threats. Ruby and Silencio were also targeted. However, they persevered.
They held Exercises To document and protest potential immigration enforcement raids, provide legal assistance and food, and continue to provide worship services in Creole and English classes.
And while they did that I prayed for TrumpThey have called for an extension of the Temporary Protected Status program that has allowed thousands of Haitians to legally reach Springfield in recent years. Escape from turmoil andGang violenceIn their homeland.
“They were both great community leaders,” said Phyllis Dorsainville, who worked closely with both priests as executive director of the Haitian Community Help and Support Center in Springfield.
He describes Ruby as a hero to immigrants, even putting his life on the line to support and welcome them.
He is grateful to Silencieux for hosting the Haitian Community Center at his church since 2021 and inviting the immigration attorney to meet with the congregation after services.
“He prays for them, fasts with them, and gives them spiritual advice,” Dorsainville said.
Raised in a Christian family, Silencio loved Jesus and wanted to serve God, but not as a priest. Instead he became a lawyer.
But by his mid-twenties, he was preaching part-time and eventually moved to Port-au-Prince where he pastored several churches in The capital is controlled by gangs .
“Life in Haiti was not easy,” Silencio said. “But it shaped my character.” “She taught me perseverance, responsibility and the importance of community.”
It also prepared him for the next challenge.
In 2021, he felt called to move to Springfield, where Haitian immigrants were helping meet the increasing labor demands of the city’s growing manufacturing industry. He did not know English and left behind his wife and children, who still live in Haiti.
Since then, he has been helping some of the thousands of Haitians who have legally moved to Springfield in recent years under the TPS program. The United States initially granted TPS to Haitians following the country’s devastating earthquake in 2010, and has extended it several times since then. But the Trump administration has pushed for an end to that situation, saying conditions in Haiti have improved.
A federal judge recently ruled Maintain protectionTemporarily in place. But uncertainty and fear persist in Springfield.
After her ruling, the judge received her Death threats. Bomb threats closed schools, offices, and businesses in Springfield.
Silencieux feels helpless at times, but he reminds the community — and himself — to keep the faith.
“As a priest, I have no possibility to protect them,” he said. “Faith helps me help the community.”
At a recent Sunday Mass, he advised his parishioners to stay home as much as possible in the event of immigration raids. He prayed for Trump and the Haitian community.
“The president is our president. He can make decisions. But he is limited,” he said. “God is infinite.”
Robbie grew up in a Baptist family in rural Michigan and spent most of his life identifying as an evangelical and Republican. When he moved to Springfield — and for years afterward — he didn’t know any Haitians.
But tensions flared in 2023 after a boy was killed and dozens injured when a Haitian migrant driver ran over him.Hit a school bus .
From home, Ruby followed a live City Council meeting to discuss the incident.
“I was hearing one ugly racist statement after another,” he said, recalling how he immediately drove to the meeting to speak out.
“All I said was: We have to remember that there are advantages to bringing immigrants into our community; they are good people.” She immediately became a friend of the Haitians in the city and an enemy of the anti-immigrant people in the city.
After Trump’s insulting remarks in 2024, Roby invited Haitians in Springfield to worship at his church. He encouraged his congregation to distribute cards around Springfield containing a supportive message for Haitians. It was written in Creole and English: “I’m so glad you’re here. Christ loves you and so do I.”
Robbie said God began preparing him for this moment 15 years ago. At the time, he was vice president of student life at Cedarville University, a Baptist college near Dayton, Ohio, and he organized a trip with students to trace the life of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
The group visited the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, where four black girls were murdered in 1963 when a group of black girls were murdered in Birmingham, Alabama. A bomb planted by members of the Ku Klux KlanIt exploded during Sunday service.
They also visited the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, where Ruby read King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” The letter was addressed to clergy in Alabama who had asked King to postpone civil rights demonstrations in Birmingham.
“I didn’t know this was a message to pastors who failed to stand up because they wanted to be safe,” Ruby said.
“I made a promise to myself that I would not do that; that if there was an opportunity for me to use my voice to help someone who was being persecuted, I would not be silent.”
He organized a national conference for Christian colleges, hoping that students would return to their campuses inspired to launch organizations focused on serving immigrants.
His work for immigrants continued when he became a pastor in 2015.
Foundations for working with religious leaders G92 an immigrant advocacy group named after the Hebrew word “ger,” meaning stranger or foreigner, which occurs 92 times in the Old Testament.
Today, he is proud that Springfield’s resistance to Trump’s anti-immigration campaign is built on faith.
“This is definitely a faith-led movement,” he added. “God loves immigrants, and part of proving that you are one of God’s people is taking care of immigrants.”
He has been targeted with threats and slanderous comments. But he remains brave.
“I never lost a moment of sleep worrying about someone hurting me,” he said. “I believe God will protect me.”
On February 2nd, help organize an event where… Hundreds packed the church To sing and pray in support of Haitians. A large number of people attended to the point that one firefighter asked dozens to leave because the church had exceeded its capacity.
Ruby said: “Outside of the beautiful occasions with my family, it was the most beautiful day of my life.”
With the future of the TPS program uncertain, Ruby remains concerned about the fate of Haitian immigrants in Springfield. But he’s also optimistic.
“I think God will bless our city for doing the right thing.”
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