Springfield, Ohio’s Haitian community has leaned on two local pastors—Reginald Silencieux and Carl Ruby—as fear around immigration enforcement has intensified under President Donald Trump’s crackdown.
Silencieux, who leads the First Haitian Evangelical Church, and Ruby, pastor of Central Christian Church, have worked separately in different parts of the city but aligned in what they describe as a shared effort: helping Haitian migrants who fear deportation while maintaining worship and community services in Creole and English. Both pastors also say they have pushed back against misinformation that has fueled anti-immigrant hostility and threats.
The pastors’ cooperation dates to the weeks after Trump’s 2024 comments, when the pair said Springfield residents and officials faced dozens of bomb threats connected to the rumor Trump promoted, which they said falsely accused Haitian migrants of eating cats and dogs. In response, the pastors offered shelter in their churches and invited community members to join in prayer and peaceful protest aimed at curbing the rumors that intensified anti-immigrant fears.
Viles Dorsainvil, executive director of the Haitian Community Help and Support Center in Springfield, described Ruby as a champion of migrants, saying Ruby helped support and welcome Haitians despite the risks. Dorsainvil said he is grateful for Silencieux’s hosting of the Haitian community center in his church since 2021 and for Silencieux inviting immigration attorneys to meet with congregants after services.
Both pastors, according to accounts in the reporting, have also held trainings meant to document and protest potential immigration enforcement raids, provided legal aid and food, and continued offering worship services and classes. They have also continued to press publicly for an extension of Haiti’s Temporary Protection Status program, which they describe as having allowed thousands of Haitians to legally arrive in Springfield in recent years.
Silencieux said he arrived in Springfield after growing up in Haiti and later pastoring churches in Port-au-Prince, including in the gang-controlled capital. He told the community he did not come as a preacher; he said he became an attorney and began preaching part-time before feeling called to move to Springfield in 2021 to serve Haitian immigrants. He said he left behind his wife and children in Haiti and initially did not know English.
In Springfield, Silencieux said he has helped Haitian migrants who came through the TPS framework. The U.S. initially gave TPS to Haitians after a devastating earthquake in 2010 and extended it several times since, but the Trump administration has sought to end that status, saying conditions in Haiti have improved. A federal judge has ruled to keep the protection temporarily in place, but Silencieux and others described continued uncertainty and fear in Springfield, including after the judge’s ruling when threats followed.
Silencieux said that, at times, he feels powerless about immediate protection but that faith helps him support the community. At a Sunday service, he recommended that congregants stay home as much as possible in case of immigration raids and said he offered prayers both for Trump and for the Haitian community. He said, “Faith helps me to help the community,” and also described his view of limits and guidance, saying, “The president is our president. He can take decisions. But he is limited,” and adding, “God is unlimited.”
Ruby’s path, the reporting said, began in rural Michigan, where he grew up in a Baptist family and identified for years as evangelical and a Republican. He said he did not know Haitians when he moved to Springfield and described how his involvement grew after tensions flared in 2023, when he said a Haitian immigrant driver hit a school bus, killing a boy and injuring dozens. He said he joined a city council meeting after hearing racist statements from residents and later became more outspoken in support of immigrants in Springfield.
Ruby said that after Trump’s derogatory comments in 2024, he invited Springfield’s Haitians to worship at his church and encouraged congregants to hand out cards carrying supportive messages in Creole and English. He also described his decision-making as shaped by prior experiences, including organizing a trip connected to the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and he said he made a commitment that, if given an opportunity to speak for someone being oppressed, he would not be silent.
Ruby said today that Springfield’s resistance to Trump’s immigration crackdown is faith-based. He said in February he helped put on an event in which hundreds packed a church to sing and pray in support of Haitians, and he said the crowd grew so large that a fire marshal asked people to leave because the church exceeded capacity. He also described continued fear for Haitian migrants as the TPS program’s future remains uncertain, while he said he is hopeful about what he called the city’s response.
Ruby said, “I think God’s going to bless our city for doing the right thing,” while also describing how he has handled threats and slanderous comments. He said, “I’ve never lost a moment of sleep over worrying about someone harming me,” and added that he believes God will protect him.