Haitian pastor faces deportation even though he was on path to legalize status in U.S.

A Haitian pastor whose wife had received notice that a petition to adjust his immigration status had been approved is facing deportation to Haiti anyway, days after he was arrested during a traffic stop while working as a food delivery driver for Doordash.

Read more Miami killer has an execution date, but concerns about dementia could alter that

Molis Augustave is among dozens of Haitian nationals expected to be placed aboard an Immigration and Customs Enforcement charter flight in Alexandria, Louisiana, and deported to Haiti on Thursday.

At least three Haitian pastors have been the subject of high-profile detentions by ICE following their arrests. Meanwhile, hundreds of Haitians have been deported to Haiti since July, some of them a mere days after being detained in the U.S. After sending monthly flights to Haiti, ICE is now sending them once a week

Augustave was arrested on Sept. 4 while driving in Lancaster County after he was pulled over by police reportedly for a broken taillight, according to his wife, Omara Boniface Nunez.

Days later, Nunez received an email from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services informing her that the agency had approved the Form I-130 Petition for Alien Relative that she had filed on her husband’s behalf. The form establishes a legal family tie between a U.S. sponsor and a foreign family member.

Approval of an I-130 petition does not by itself provide legal status or a green card. But it is a step toward obtaining lawful permanent status that, before the Trump administration came into office, shielded most approved applicants from deportation.

An ICE spokesperson told the Miami Herald that Augustave was arrested “on Sept. 4 for violating U.S. immigration laws and being unlawfully present in the U.S.

“Augustave has a final order of removal and will remain in ICE custody pending removal,” the spokesperson said. “Being in detention is a choice. We encourage all illegal aliens to take control of their departure using the CBP Home app. The United States is offering illegal aliens up to $3,000 and a free flight to self-deport now.”

Nunez said she is “heartbroken“over her husband’s detention and possible deportation to an unstable Haiti, where a recent surge in kidnappings by armed gangs has targeted even government officials and an attack by armed gangs on Tuesday on a town just outside of northern Haiti is fueling panic.

“I have seen Molis help other people, including people with family members in detention. But I did not imagine it would happen to me,” she said.

Read more Deputies name bicyclist killed in Broward hit-and-run and ask for public’s help

The couple met at work and have been married since March 2023. They have a 2-year-old son, Isaac. Augustave is also a stepfather to Nunez’s 9-year-old daughter, Sofia.

“Every day I wonder what the future holds. I have my kids to take care of, so I cannot not think through next steps. Do our lives continue with him here? What if he is deported?” she said.

Nunez said her daughter “understands what is happening but has a deep hope he is coming home,” she said. Their son, meanwhile, is longing for his father.

Nunez said after her husband called her from an ICE office, she tried to see him but was refused. “An ICE agent just handed me his things through the door,” she said.

Augustave arrived in the United States in 2016, and since then has been an immigration-rights advocate. Earlier this year, he joined dozens of other clergy members in a legal brief filed on behalf of Haitian Temporary Protected Status beneficiaries as the Supreme Court weighed the Trump administration’s request to terminate the humanitarian protection for more than 300,000 people.

Augustave is among those who lost his TPS protection in July after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the administration, clearing the way for Haitians to be detained and deported despite seeking other means to adjust their status, as the administration had asked them to do. Immigration advocates note that he still had a valid driver’s license when he was stopped, and he was pursuing a legal avenue to obtain permanent residency..

Nunez said she speaks to her husband daily, and he describes difficult conditions inside the detention center, including times where they’ve run out of food.

“He says he is surrounded by people who have been there for endless months. Sometimes there isn’t enough food. There are women and children held nearby,” she said. “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.”

Nunez, a first-generation American, added that her family’s situation has given her a new perspective.

Read more Lawsuit accuses Florida of violating rights of defendants with mental illness

“I know that many families are going through what I am going through.”