EAST FLATBUSH — In a special way, Father Hilaire Belizaire said this year’s Haitian Independence Day Mass on Jan. 1 was a show of solidarity with Haitians who have Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and may soon have to leave the country.
“We pray at this Mass in solidarity with them,” said Father Belizaire, pastor of St. Jerome Church, where the Mass was celebrated. “They live in fear of the unknown, because they don’t know what’s going to happen to them Feb. 3.”
A TPS designation allows migrants who can’t return home due to war or other dangerous conditions to reside legally in the U.S. for a period of time. This current round of TPS, which expires on Feb. 3, allowed Haitians to come to the U.S. following the earthquake that ravaged their nation in 2010.
Nawenzie (whose last name is being withheld), a 17-year-old with a TPS designation, said she feels “uncomfortable” and “unloved” by the government, and “scared” by President Donald Trump’s rhetoric that non-citizens will have to leave the country.
However, she said the Haitian Independence Day Mass, which hundreds attended, helped her feel less alone.
“I feel in a good mood because my parish is with me,” said Nawenzie, who has been a parishioner at St. Jerome for two years. “They always make me feel happy, and we celebrate peace together.
“Being a part of the church means a lot to me. When I’m walking with Jesus, everything is working. I don’t have to be scared.”
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Haiti has struggled to rebuild after natural disasters over the years. The country has also experienced political instability, with violent gangs seeking control.
According to the International Organization for Migration, gang violence in Mirebalais and Saut d’Eau, two areas within central Haiti, displaced over 51,000 people last year between January and March of 2025.
One attendee, Marie-Yvette (whose last name is also being withheld), said she came into the country in 2023 under the Biden administration’s CHNV program, which provided two-year temporary stays for migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. The Trump administration canceled the program in March 2025, and she has lived in the U.S. undocumented ever since.
“I’m scared that I will be pushed out,” Marie-Yvette said as she began to cry.
The Haitian Independence Day Mass was celebrated by Haitian Bishop Pierre-André Dumas of Anse-à-Veau and Miragoâne. He said he participated in the Mass to advocate for his people and invited those who revoked Haitian TPS to reflect on the decision to send them back to a country filled with insecurity.
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“What I would like to say to the authorities is to understand that if you make the decision to send them back to Haiti, when you sign that paper, you send them to die,” he said.
Father Belizaire said he invited Bishop Dumas to celebrate the Mass so he could bring a “little piece of Haiti.”
Two years ago, Bishop Dumas suffered third-degree burns during an explosion at a home in Port-au-Prince where he was staying for a visit. Since then, he has been recovering in Miami.
Father Belizaire called the bishop’s injuries a symbol of Haiti’s current condition.
“He was very young, strong, just like the beauty of Haiti,” Father Belizaire said. “But now, he is disfigured, and that’s exactly what happened to Haiti.
“But if he can stand here [today], it really is by the grace of God.”
Although Homeland Security has not shown any signs of extending TPS for Haitians, Bishop Dumas said he believes there is still time to convince them to do so.
“In the Bible,” Bishop Dumas said, “God said to Israel, ‘Welcome the foreigners, because remember, you also are a foreigner.’ ”