Pastor David Pironneau is preaching from the New Testament’s book of Colossians on a recent Sunday morning at The Kingdom Church Kreyol in Pine Hills. The passage calls on Christians to be “bonswa kodiyal’’ – “graciously cordial’’ – when confronted by people who are angry with them.
Gliding gracefully between Haitian Creole and English, Pironneau’s message to the 80 congregants in front of him – many of them Haitian immigrants – strikes a chord.
Outside the walls of his church, voters angry over illegal immigration, along with high costs of living, elevated President Trump to the White House. In addition to promising mass deportations of people without documentation, Trump immediately halted the country’s refugee and asylum program, which benefits thousands of Haitian immigrants, whose country is racked by poverty and gang violence. He is attempting to do away with birthright citizenship by executive order and on Thursday ended temporary protected status – known as TPS – for 500,000 Haitians in the United States.
The Biden administration had extended TPS through Feb. 3, 2026, for eligible Haitians. But on Thursday, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem rescinded that extension and announced TPS would end for Haitians on Aug. 3 of this year.
“President Trump and I are returning TPS to its original status: temporary,’’ Noem said in her announcement Thursday night.
With the climate in the country shifting against refugees and asylum seekers, Pironneau is trying to lead his church through an uncertain time and urging them to cling to their faith and remain Christlike in the face of insults or threats.
“How I respond to a conflict is more important than the content of the conflict,’’ Pironneau tells his congregation. “The person that does you wrong, whether we like it or not, in the eyes of Christ, their soul still matters. That’s why the way we respond matters.’’ Church members respond with calls of “amen’’ and “Mési, Papa Bondye’’ (“Thank you, Father God.’’)
The Kingdom Church Kreyol is located at the epicenter of Central Florida’s Haitian community, which at 41,000 is the second-largest Haitian immigrant community in the state. Within the 11 square miles of the church’s front door lives 11,613 Haitians, according to U.S. Census data from 2023.
For those Haitians who are members of Pironneau’s church, many are fearful of deportation – even if they have legal status. Pironneau says these fears have been inflamed and exploited by social media influencers and have caused some church members to stay home and not come to services. He has tried to counter these fears by bringing in immigration attorneys and other government officials who have conducted Know Your Rights sessions with church members.
“My job is to reassure them that God is with them and that God is already aware of things because nothing is outside his control,’’ Pironneau said.
It’s a message that resonates with church member Marsha Jean-Mary, who has attended Kingdom Church Kreyol for two years. She’s an educator at an Orlando charter school and in the past taught English to speakers of other languages – including Haitian children whose parents, like hers, are immigrants.
“I am someone who holds birthright citizenship. But even through the regular process and even if someone were to come here not illegally, the process of becoming a citizen or even a resident is so arduous and so difficult, that there needs to be a lot of reform done.’’
Jean-Mary says with protected status for asylees and refugees from perilous countries being swept away, many of her fellow church members are afraid. For example, last week, during debate on the sweeping immigration bill passed by the Florida Legislature, Haitian-born Rep. Dotie Joseph, D-Port of Miami-Dade, offered an amendment that would have extended protected status to Haitians in Florida, just like Cubans, but it was rejected by her Republican colleagues, who hold a supermajority in the House.
“The setbacks are enormous,’’ Jean-Mary said. “And on top of that legislation that changes as they’re coming in. And coming in with an opportunity but then finding that opportunity being ripped away from them can be very hard. There’s a lot of fear – an immense amount of fear. And even while you’re holding on to your faith, Monday is a reality. After worshiping, you go out on Monday still hoping that you are able to live freely.’’
Copyright 2025 Central Florida Public Media
