A pastor from York, Pennsylvania, named Molis Augustave, was recently deported to Haiti. The event sparked outrage among Pennsylvania residents, who blamed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for targeting the well-known religious figure and “rushing” his deportation.
As reported by WITF, Augustave was deported around 20 days after being detained during a police stop in West Manchester. The local officer called ICE after checking Augustave’s status, and he was apprehended on the spot. Soon after entering custody, his application for permanent residency was declined.
According to the human rights organization We Are CASA, the case was “rushed” to undermine his legitimate claims to permanent residency. Efforts were made to prevent his deportation, and even Governor Josh Shapiro intervened to support him, but he was ultimately deported. An “unidentified DHS spokesperson,” on the other hand, accused the pastor of entering the country illegally. No proof of that was provided.
The pastor leaves behind a U.S. citizen wife, an infant son, and a stepdaughter, as well as his entire congregation at Iglesia de Dios LA Voz de Alerta in York. He had no criminal record and came to the United States legally in 2016.
Outrage After Pennsylvania Pastor Is Deported
The case outraged Pennsylvania residents on r/Pennsylvania, who condemned ICE and the federal government for the deportation. Someone said: “He applied for permanent residency. He was waiting for that to be processed. He did everything right.”
Others responded: “Sometimes life gives you cancer even when you do everything right. Except in this case, the cruelty was intentionally inflicted by Republicans who are catering to their nationalistic base of voters.”
Another local chimed in: “The cruelty is the point. This is white nationalism, and it’s only going to get worse if we don’t put a check on these people. It’s laughable, really, that these whites think they’re the superior race and that white people are the only people who should be in America. This country was founded by immigrants and built by people of color.”
The outrage even led some people to accuse Republicans of not being Christians. One of these users commented: “I was in a red area over the weekend and overheard (…) ‘I don’t see how anyone who claims to be a follower of Jesus can vote Democrat.’ I’m just thinking to myself, ‘What Jesus do you follow?’ Jesus would be chasing these people out of churches with a whip. They’re absolutely not Christian. They use religion to justify their hatred.”
It’s unlikely that Augustave will be able to return to the U.S. anytime soon, as the church’s future activities have not been publicly disclosed.
