The Word of Life Center, a church in Salisbury, Maryland, has seen a significant drop in attendance due to fears of deportation among the Haitian community. The Trump administration’s decision to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for over 1 million people, including roughly 350,000 Haitians, has left many in the community feeling anxious and uncertain about their future.

Impact on the Community

The Haitian community on Maryland’s Eastern Shore is one of the largest in the country, with about 10% of Salisbury’s 33,000 residents being of Haitian descent. Many of these individuals have been living and working in the US for years, and the end of TPS has left them facing an agonizing choice: try to stay in the US and find underground work, or return to Haiti, a country plagued by gang violence and poverty.

Roosevelt Toussaint, the senior pastor of the Word of Life Center, has been a vocal advocate for the Haitian community. He has called on President Trump to have compassion for the community, stating that they have done nothing wrong and are only seeking to work and make a difference in the US economy.

The situation has also affected local businesses, with some owners reporting a decline in sales due to the fear of deportation among their customers. The community is also concerned about the impact on families, with some parents facing the possibility of being separated from their children if they are deported.

Response from Authorities

ICE has pressed ahead with enforcement activities, calling Haitians in for ankle bracelets and telling them not to travel more than 75 miles from their home address. The agency has also been using tactics to bring people into their offices to either detain them or fit them with an ankle monitor, and telling them that if they don’t self-deport, they will be called back to report within a month.

The US Department of Homeland Security has stated that TPS is temporary and that Congress never intended it to be permanent. However, advocates and attorneys argue that the decision to end TPS will have a devastating impact on the Haitian community and the US economy as a whole.

Original reporting: Dallas TX News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.