Many pastors and volunteers from across Ohio are uniting with a new rallying cry on behalf of Springfield’s Haitian immigrants: "Unshackle Springfield."
It’s in response to the Department of Homeland Security using ankle monitors to track some Haitian immigrants who lost Temporary Protected Status in July. Now a group of volunteers are in the city, packing food boxes for Haitian families, writing letters to politicians asking for their help and offering prayers to anyone in need. The Springfield area is home to an estimated 12,000 to 15,000 Haitian immigrants —many of whom are now facing deportation.
The Rev. Thomas Bodi, from Akron, fears the ICE arrests and detentions are traumatizing U.S. born Haitian children.
“Snatching parents away and what happens to children separated from their loved ones? It’s going to play out in their lives in all sorts of problems,” Bodie said.
These pastors are also reaching out to national politicians. They want DHS to stop requiring ankle monitors and release Springfield Pastor Joubert Adrien.
The Rev. Rina Shere, who leads the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Cleveland, said this pastoral army is also praying for the ICE agents in the city, hoping some of them will reject their assignment.
"You have a choice of what you want to do as an ICE agent. You have a choice about how you want to treat another human being," Shere said. "We're here to reflect the choice that's on the side of love. and respect and of human dignity."
