I cannot stay silent on Haiti TPS. Senate, do the right thing and extend it | Opinion

Among my many duties as a Catholic priest, receiving confession is one of the most sacred. I hear dozens a week and, from them, learn what troubles the minds and spirit of not just a congregation, but an entire community.

In recent months, it’s fear that’s been bothering so many in Little Haiti. Fear of what tomorrow may bring, fear of what happens if a work permit expires, fear of a knock at the door that can change a life forever, including separating children from their parents. I tell them what the Bible teaches us: that fear is not inherently a sin and that its real danger lies in potentially leading us to act against our faith — but that includes inaction, too.

That truth — that we will be judged not just by what we do but also by what we don’t do — is one that’s all too readily forgotten in this modern world. And it’s why I cannot stay silent as Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians remains on the brink.

The U.S. House of Representatives last month voted to extend TPS for Haitians for three more years. The bill now faces a vote in the Senate. It would not only keep families together and Florida communities flourishing — it would save lives.

Since it was created in 1990, TPS has uncontroversially and in bipartisan fashion been used to provide safety and status to people from other countries who cannot return to their homes because of perilous conditions. That all changed with a Trump administration that’s been belligerently striving to strip Haitians of these crucial protections without concern for the dangerous conditions from which they fled or the lives and families they’ve built here in the U.S.

For some, this may sound like a technical policy update. But for those of us who serve communities like Little Haiti, it is a pastoral emergency. I have blessed homes where the walls are thin, but the faith is strong. I have baptized children who only know Haiti through the stories of their parents and the prayers of their grandparents. They, too, would be swept up in the chaos of a TPS termination, potentially separated from their families and homes.

My argument is a moral one: Ending TPS for Haiti is a wound to families, to community stability and to the Christian conscience. Haitian residents are workers, business owners and parents. They are faith leaders and teachers. They are woven into the fabric of our society here in South Florida, but also around the country, and they belong here, in their homes.

The other half of the argument is that Haiti is not simply “struggling” — the country is in a sustained humanitarian emergency. Haiti’s capital remains profoundly unsafe for return. We can debate immigration systems, but we should not manufacture chaos for families who have done their part to belong here and do not deserve to be sent to a state struggling with basic services and safety net, as well as growing gang violence. Worst of it all is the growing violence against women and children.

We cannot allow fear — fear of the unknown, fear of inconvenience — to stop us from doing what’s right and extending legal protections for Haitians fleeing danger back home. There is nothing “temporary” about our moral responsibility to those in need. The Bible is clear on that.

As a final vote approaches, may we choose courage over cruelty, solidarity over indifference and truth over noise. And may our public life and elected officials reflect what we proclaim in worship: that every human person is sacred, every family matters and hope is not canceled by a date on the calendar.

When that date comes, I pray that we are not found excusing ourselves. I pray that our leaders in the Senate are found standing with families.

Father Reginald “Regi” Jean Mary is a priest at the Notre Dame d’Haiti Catholic Church in Little Haiti.