Trump's plan to end TPS for Haitians is hateful. Why aren't more objecting?

Miami Herald

12 hours ago

I, like many of you, try to look beyond the news headlines of horror and try to find the good in whatever the situation. These days, that's kind of hard to do.
Take for instance, the news at the end of June that the Trump administration will try to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians, citing 'sufficient improvement' in Haiti so that Haitians could allegedly return home safely.
What a blatant lie.
It is no secret that Haiti has been a hellhole for many years. So, how did it recover without our knowing anything about it?
Haiti has been roiled by natural disasters — the 2010 earthquake that killed more than 200,000, followed by devastating hurricanes.
And the country has fallen victim to armed gangs, who think nothing of torching homes, schools and hospitals, killing and kidnapping the missionaries who risk their lives to bring hope and comfort to a people in dire need.
Some were able to escape the turmoil and find solace, and a new life on these shores. But now, it seems, the solace many Haitians found here for many years is coming to an end. What will they go back to in Haiti? Where will they live? Or work? Or be educated? Or get medical attention?
When brutish and armed gangs took over a great portion of the country, the people who could leave were left with no other option but to flee. Over the years, Haiti, a land of majestic mountainsides and colorful creative people, gradually turned into a country in chaos.
In September, the State Department issued a 'Haiti Travel Advisory' warning Americans not to travel to Haiti 'due to kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and limited health care.'
Even U.S. citizens still living in Haiti have been asked to leave the country as soon as possible or be prepared to shelter in place for an extended period.
Does this sound like a place you would like to return to after having lived and worked and contributed to the economy of this country for many years? The Haitian people have become a part of our American landscape.
More than 500,000 Haitian nationals are protected under TPS in the United States. If they were sent back to Haiti, we would be left with a great void, especially in South Florida, where their colorful culture has added flavor to the great Mixing Pot.
So, while Haitians have eked out a life for themselves in many other parts of the country, I can hardly imagine a Miami without the Haitian influence.
Let's face it, folks — this isn't about 'restoring integrity' to the immigration system. Let's call it what it really is: A blatant act of racism. It's hating our sisters and brothers who happen to be from a Black nation.
Recently I heard an excerpt from a sermon by Pastor Loran Livingston, senior pastor at Central Church of God in Charlotte, N.C., who said:
'This is 2025… this is the worse generation, the most, evil generation since the flood of Noah, and it's getting worse every day…' But, Livingston said, 'It is not only society that is rotten, but the so-called church religious people are more like the world every day and are bringing the world into its so-called worship. There is no longer a fear of God in this world and in most churches… The Bible says, '… the fear of the Lord is the beginning is wisdom… but the fear of the God is gone. Many Christians no longer have a quaking, respectful fear of the God who saved them.'
I thought about Livingston's sermon for a while, listening to his words over and over again. And I thought: 'This is so true.' I grew up in church. I have always loved a good soul-searching sermon, one where I leave church wanting to be a better person, wanting to reach out to others with compassion.
This move to send Haitians, many of whom have become Americanized, back to a country that is foreign to them shows a dire lack of compassion on the part of the Trump administration. The move — along with the building of Alligator Alcatraz in the Everglades — makes this generation look very bad, indeed.
Where are the Evangelicals?
This is where I question the thousands of Evangelicals who support the president's every move — even when it is the wrong move.
I believe that if the true Bible-believing Evangelicals would stand up and get in a little 'good trouble' as the late Congressman John Lewis once said, we would see some good changes happen in our country. People who love the Lord should also love the Lord's people, including Haitians.
While I challenge the Evangelicals to try to persuade President Trump to rethink his order to end TPS for Haitians, I am not 'picking' on them. I challenge them because of their staunch support of President Trump. If he listened to anyone, I believe it would be the Evangelicals. After all, many of them carry and promote his 'Trump Bible.'
However, the burden of compassion is not solely left on the lap of the Evangelicals. As a believer, I know that God is love. He loves the just and the unjust. So, the message to love back is to us all.
I don't know what can be done to reverse President Trump's decision to send a half-million people to what could mean their certain destruction. I just believe that none of us can afford to sit silently by and watch it happen.
After all — love is what love does.