Ohio city stands up to Trump’s ‘attitude of hate’ toward Haitian community

Viles Dorsainvil, executive director of the Haitian Community Help and Support Center poses for a photograph in Springfield, Ohio, on 2 July 2025. Central Christian Church's senior pastor Carl Ruby poses for a portrait in his office in Springfield, Ohio, on 5 February 2026. Composite: Reuters, AFP via Getty Imags

At morning services at Central Christian Church in Springfield, Ohio, on Sunday, congregants greeted one another with hugs and expressed gratitude for a rare piece of good news. Nearly a week before, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to end legal protections for 350,000 Haitians in the US.

The church is one of several in Springfield that provide services in Haitian Creole and has opened its doors to thousands of Haitians living in the small city in south-western Ohio. Addressing the ruling, pastor Carl Ruby explained in his sermon that during times of suffering, the silence of God doesn’t mean the absence of God.