The Springfield pastor detained Thursday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement left Haiti “because his life was in danger,” advocates say.
ICE detained Gilbert Joubert Adrien and another Haitian man, Victor Yonel, at a Springfield gas station on Aug. 20, according to an Aug. 21 news release from the faith-based immigrant advocacy group G92. Yonel’s wife and another woman were in the car with the two men, but not detained.
Yonel, 50, and Adrien, 41, are in ICE custody at the Butler County Jail, according to the Department of Homeland Security detainee locator website. The Butler County jail roster also lists Yonel and Adrien as inmates. Both rosters list Yonel’s name as “Yonel Victor.”
Marjory Wentworth, a member of G92, told The Enquirer that she didn’t have more information on Yonel. She also said her organization doesn’t have any indication why the two men were detained and was not aware of any standing deportation orders for them.
Yonel has a pending case in the Cleveland Immigration Court but no scheduled hearings, the court’s website showed. The site did not list an immigration case associated with Adrien as of Aug. 21. Additionally, neither man’s name comes up in a search of federal court records.
‘His life was in danger’
Viles Dorsainvil, director of the Haitian Support Center, told The Enquirer he doesn’t know Yonel, but he has spent years working with Adrien. He said that Adrien has lived in Springfield for five years with his wife and two children.
“People know him,” Dorsainvil said. “Pastors are well known in the community.”
In the Aug. 21 press release, Carl Ruby, senior pastor of Central Christian Church in Springfield, said Adrien left Haiti “because his life was in danger.” The release did not include more details on Adrien’s move to Springfield and his role in the faith community. Ruby and Central Christian Church did not respond to further questions in time for publication.
However, Dorsainvil said that generally, pastors and church leaders in Haiti have been targeted by gangs seeking money. When they can’t provide that money, Dorsainvil said, they are at risk of kidnapping.
The release did not share the name of Joubert Adrien’s church for “security reasons.”
Around 15,000 Haitians living in Springfield were legally living there under Temporary Protected Status. This federal designation allowed immigrants from countries facing dangerous conditions, like environmental disasters and armed conflict, to live in the U.S., until the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to end TPS in June. TPS for Haiti ended July 27.
The U.S. originally granted Haiti a TPS designation after an earthquake that killed over 300,000 people in 2010. TPS for Haiti had been extended since then due to other natural disasters, political instability and public health concerns, according to the National Immigration Forum.
The Enquirer previously reported that Haitian residents in Springfield received letters summoning them to appointments at ICE field offices. Some were also given ankle monitors that restrict them to within a 75-mile radius of their home address.
“(Adrien) served Christ and his congregation faithfully and his arrest shows how far ICE will stoop to incite panic among people who came here peacefully, came here legally and offered nothing but good to our community,” Ruby said in the release.
In the release, Dorsainvil said there are “human costs of detention.”
“Behind every detention is a family. Behind every deportation is a mother, a father, a husband, a wife, a child, a friend, a church member, a coworker, or a neighbor whose life may be changed forever,” Dorsainvil said.
More details on protests, services to come
Wentworth told The Enquirer that G92 is planning to have a protest or event to support the two detained men. She said more details would be offered within the next week.
“ICE is getting nastier every day,” Wentworth said. “Yesterday just really accelerated everything.”
The release also called on faith leaders and the public to come to Springfield to support Adrien and Yonel.
“In the coming days, we will reach out for your support and invite you to come here and share in our struggle,” the release said.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Springfield pastor held by ICE left Haiti due to ‘danger,’ leader says
Reporting by Mia Hilkowitz, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Mia Hilkowitz, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
