Immigration and Customs Enforcement has detained a "beloved" Springfield pastor Thursday, according to a local faith-based organization.
G92, which advocates for their immigrant neighbors, said in a news release that agents detained Pastor Gilbert Joubert Adrien at a South Limestone Street gas station Aug. 20.
The release did not state Adrien’s church for “security reasons.” The Washington Post reported that Adrien is well-known a Christian pastor in the community, according to Vilés Dorsainvil of the Haitian Support Center.
Adrien, 41, is in ICE custody at the Butler County Jail, according to a Department of Homeland Security detainee locator website. The jail also lists him as an inmate.
“The community is really deeply saddened,” said G92 member
Marjory Wentworth. “It makes everyone feel even more vulnerable.”
An estimated 15,000 Haitians living in Springfield were here legally with Temporary Protected Status, a federal designation granted to immigrants from countries facing conditions such as natural disasters or armed conflict, according to an Enquirer report. The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for the Trump administration to end TPS in June.
Haitian residents of Springfield have been receiving letters calling them in for appointments at ICE field offices, The Enquirer previously reported. Some have been given ankle monitors, an alternative to detention used by ICE, that restrict them to a 75-mile radius from their home address.
This report may be updated. Enquirer Watchdog Reporter Victoria Moorwood and Regional Politics Reporter Erin Glynn contributed.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: ICE detains Haitian pastor 'beloved' by Springfield community
