Wife of Pastor Taken by ICE Fears His Deportation: ‘God Put Us Together’ - Newsweek

The wife of a Haitian pastor being held in an immigration detention facility in Louisiana says she fears he could be deported before a pending green card application is decided.

"I felt that God put us together," Omara Nunez, a student, said of her husband, Pastor Molis Augustave, a York, Pennsylvania, pastor who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement this month. "Every day I wonder what the future holds. What if he is deported?"

A spokesperson at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Newsweek: "On September 4, ICE arrested Molis Augustave, an illegal alien from Haiti, as part of the 287g partnership with West Manchester Police Department, who encountered Augustave after conducting a vehicle stop in York, Pennsylvania. He will remain in ICE custody pending removal."

Advocates say he was later transferred from Pennsylvania to Louisiana.

DHS said Molis Augustave was encountered by U.S. Border Patrol near San Ysidro, California, after entering the United States illegally in July 2016 and was later released, before an immigration judge issued a final order of removal in March 2018.

According to the York Daily Record, Molis Augustave was pulled over by a West Manchester Township Police officer for a burned-out headlight and an expired vehicle registration before being transferred to ICE custody. The outlet reported that Augustave was working as a DoorDash delivery driver shortly before he was stopped by police.

Augustave is being held at the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center, according to the agency's detainee database.

His detention sparked a rally and press conference in York on Tuesday attended by faith leaders, immigrant advocacy groups and residents, who called on federal authorities to release him from custody while U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services adjudicates his pending green card application.

Augustave previously held Temporary Protected Status, a humanitarian program that allows nationals of certain countries to live and work in the United States temporarily. His supporters say he lost those protections after the Trump administration moved to terminate TPS for Haitians.

He worked as an organizer with the immigrant advocacy group We Are CASA, the group said.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court cleared the way for the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for hundreds of thousands of Haitian migrants. The case, Mullin v. Doe, challenged the administration's decision to terminate TPS for Haitians and Syrians, with plaintiffs arguing that conditions in Haiti remained dangerous and that the government had not followed legal requirements for ending the program.

In a 6-3 ruling, the court found that decisions by the Department of Homeland Security to terminate TPS designations generally are not subject to judicial review, allowing the administration to move forward with ending the protections. A federal judge subsequently confirmed that TPS protections for Haitians were no longer in effect, affecting an estimated 350,000 people who had relied on the program.

An estimated 15,000 Haitians living in Pennsylvania had TPS before the Trump administration moved to terminate the program, according to data compiled by FWD.us, a left-leaning advocacy group.

Nunez said she and Augustave met at work in 2022 and began hosting Bible studies with co-workers.

The couple married the following year and later welcomed a son, joining Nunez's daughter to form what she described as a close-knit family, Nunez said in a press release.

"When Molis was detained, I was heartbroken," she said. "I have seen Molis help other people including people with family members in detention. But I did not imagine it would happen to me."

Nunez said her husband called her from an ICE office after being arrested and that she went there hoping to see him.

"They wouldn’t let me see him," she said. "An ICE agent just handed me his things through the door."

She said the detention has been particularly difficult on the couple's children.

"Our 9-year-old Sofia understands what is happening, but has a deep hope he is coming home," Nunez said. "Our 2-year-old Isaac is very confused and deeply misses his dad."

At the rally, supporters described Augustave as a pastor who serves a local congregation and has worked with Haitian families and immigrants across south-central Pennsylvania.

"He is a husband, a father, a pastor, a chaplain, a friend, and, above all, a servant of God in our community," Pastor Jose Lopez, who pastors together with Molis at the Iglesia de Dios Voz de Alerta, said in a press release.

"Before we see a case or a number, let us see the human being; let us see the father who longs to embrace his children again; let us see the pastor whose congregation misses his leadership. Let us see the man who has dedicated his time, strength, and his heart to serving others."

Democratic Pennsylvania State Senator Patty Kim said Haitian immigrants contribute to communities across the state and expressed concern about immigration enforcement actions affecting them.

"This attack on our Haitian neighbors is yet another mean-spirited effort to target a demographic that has come into the United States seeking safety for their families."

Advocates also used the event to criticize the federal government's immigration policies and the use of 287(g) agreements, which allow designated local law enforcement agencies to collaborate with federal immigration authorities.

"ICE has increased efforts with state and local law enforcement to assist federal immigration officers in our efforts to make America safe again. As of September 14, 287(g) partnerships have increased by 1,756 percent, from 135 agreements to 2,506 since the beginning of President Trump’s second term," a DHS spokesperson said.

Haitian TPS holders in Pennsylvania contribute an estimated $235 million annually to the state's economy, while paying $54 million in federal and payroll taxes and $31 million in state and local taxes each year, according to FWD.us. The group estimates that about 7,000 Haitian TPS holders are part of the state's workforce.

Nunez said she remains in frequent contact with her husband and said he has continued ministering to fellow detainees while in custody.

"Every time I talk to him he asks if we can get help for someone else. And he has started Bible study meetings for his fellow detainees. Even now, he is still asking me to help those who are outside and looking for assistance."