At SBC Miami church, Haitians pray, petition to stay in U.S.

A Southern Baptist Convention–affiliated congregation of Haitians in Miami held a Sunday event to pray and publicly call for the restoration of migrants’ temporary protected status. The TPS program has allowed foreign nationals of select countries to live and work in the United States for years. Pastors, immigration advocates, and politicians gathered at Haitian Evangelical Baptist Church to urge the U.S. Senate to advance a bill protecting Haitians’ status in the U.S. The church’s event was part of a multi-day, nationwide push last week advocating for TPS restoration.

If passed, the Senate’s bill would extend TPS for Haitians for three years. The Department of Homeland Security first ended protection for the migrants in 2025, but various court rulings kept TPS in place until this July. Following that, more than 350,000 Haitians lost their protected migrant status, according to the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti. Church leaders also asked congregants and attendees to go vote early for politicians who could help as their community was facing a serious problem.

What other organizations advocated for this? A coalition of more than 50 organizations hosted events in cities including Chicago, Boston, and San Francisco. Some of the other religious organizations included Catholic churches and a conservative, pacifist Anabaptist denomination, the Church of the Brethren.

Haitians would face extreme violence and hardship if they returned to their country, according to the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, one of the event organizers. Gangs or armed groups control about 80% of  the capital city, Port-au-Prince, according to a number cited by the group.

Dig deeper: Read Josh Schumacher’s report for Roundups on why pastors are praying for their Haitian congregants to stay stateside.