OPINION: The false Christianity of Trump's immigration policies on display in Ohio

The Trump administration and their supporters preach about Christianity the most, but practice it the least. This contrast was on display during the vigil at the Immigration and Custom Enforcement office in Blue Ash on Sunday, Aug. 2. The vigil was organized by a coalition of faith-based organizations. People from Cincinnati and throughout the Miami Valley showed their support for immigrants and opposition to policies that do not align with Christian principles and American values.

The vigil was in response to ICE administrative summonses sent to Haitian residents in Springfield. Because of the public outcry against previous military action in our streets and the killings of U.S. citizens, ICE switched tactics to less visible administrative procedures. However, the racial profiling, family separation, and psychological terrorism of Trump’s mass deportation program continues.

The summonses were issued following the cancellation of temporary protected status for Haitians. With the cancelation of TPS, the Haitians lost their right to live and work in this country. The Republican controlled U.S. Congress refused to extend TPS for Haitians.

According to news reports, Haitian immigrants reporting to the ICE office were given the choice of being fitted with electronic GPS ankle monitors or being deported. Those given ankle monitors were told to stay within defined areas until a court hearing date to determine their deportation status. They are likely to be deported back to Haiti, the country they fled. The State Department continues to say that Haiti is unsafe due to widespread gang violence and there are shortages of food, clean water and basic healthcare.

An ankle monitor is a tool of control, but is also a weapon of fear and humiliation. It is similar to the shackles that were used by the white slaveowners to dehumanize, control, and terrorize Black slaves in Haiti. Black Haitians overthrew their white French slaveholders in 1804, however, the prejudice, racial arrogance, and hostility that many white people have for Haitians continues.

Those attending the vigil on Sunday sang songs, carried signs, and showed support for those summoned to the ICE facility. Attendees included clergy and lay people of different faiths. Karen Brownlee, an Ohio Representative, attended and expressed support for migrants. A U.S. Navy veteran that served on the rivers in Vietnam stood near the entrance to the ICE facility. He carried two small American flags and came to show his opposition to current immigration policies and the direction of the country; he expressed doubts about the competency of those running the nation that he fought for, and wondered aloud about whether the U.S. government was even listening to the people.

Political and other faith leaders have also independently expressed opposition to Trump’s immigration policies. Governor DeWine supported keeping TPS and said that changing Haitian immigration status is not in the best interest of the United States and Ohio, and creates unnecessary hardship for families. The head of the Catholic Church in southwest Ohio, Archbishop Casey, has spoken up for the Haitian immigrants. He has called for humane enforcement and protection of families from separation.

ICE is presenting Haitian families with an impossible choice: return with their children to the violence in Haiti or family separation. Forcing parents to choose between safety and unity violates Christian principles. Republicans used to say they were the party of family values; maybe it was just a slogan.

Faith communities and the people of Ohio do not support the America that Donald Trump is trying to create. He is not going after the worst of the worst; he is going after those that do not look like his image of an American.

We can no longer look away. The people of Ohio need to speak up and challenge the Trump Administration. Our representatives and senators should work together to fix our broken immigration system, and replace these policies with solutions those that respect human dignity.