Project No Labels

Pastor Andy and Dr. Lee joined FLIC, League of Women Voters, the ACLU, and other orgs to speak in front of Senator Ashley Moody’s office in Tampa to speak about our Haitian neighbors:

I am here because my faith compels me to stand with my Haitian neighbors in their time of need.

And today I want to be equally plain about something else.
Senator Ashley Moody is not a bystander to what is happening to Haitian families.

She is not powerless. She is not somebody sitting somewhere far away from the machinery making these decisions. Senator Moody serves on the United States Senate Judiciary Committee. And she serves on its Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration.

That subcommittee has jurisdiction over immigration and refugee law and oversight of the immigration work of Homeland Security, USCIS, ICE, and the State Department. And S. 4814—the bill now before Congress that would restore Temporary Protected Status for Haiti—was referred directly to the Judiciary Committee.
Her committee.

So the question this morning really is quite simple:
Senator Moody, where are you?

Because hundreds of thousands of Haitians have lost TPS.
Families are frightened. People who have lived and worked legally in this country for years are wondering whether they can keep their jobs, whether their families will remain together, and whether they will be sent to Haiti.

And what does our own government say about Haiti?
The United States Department of State says: Do not travel. Level 4. The highest warning our government gives. Do not travel because of crime, kidnapping, terrorism, civil unrest.

Haiti remains under a national state of emergency. Even United States government employees face restrictions on their movement because of the danger.

So Senator Moody, I want somebody to explain this to the people of Florida: How can the United States government tell me, “Do not go to Haiti,” while telling my Haitian neighbor, “You have to go back”?

Make that make sense.

And Senator Moody, because this issue sits directly within the jurisdiction of committees on which you serve, that question belongs to you too.

How do you reconcile sending people to Haiti with your own government's Level 4 warning? And what do you say to Haitian families in Florida who are waiting for their United States senator to tell them where she stands?

Because there is something I have noticed about Senator Moody's public record. When Senator Moody wants to talk about immigration enforcement, she knows how to find a microphone. She has introduced legislation designed to expand state participation in federal immigration enforcement through the 287(g) program.

She has introduced legislation to expand expedited removal. Her own Senate office has issued releases describing those measures and her support for the Trump administration's immigration priorities. So this is not a senator who believes immigration is outside her responsibility. Quite the opposite. She has made immigration enforcement part of her work in the United States Senate.

Which makes the question even more important:
Where is that urgency when Haitian Floridians need protection? Senator Moody, I know you frequently say that your faith in God is the first and foremost driving force in your life and work.

First of all: You claim to be a follower of Jesus… did you know he and his family were refugees in Egypt? And Here is what God has to say about our Haitian neighbor: Haitians bear the image of God. God says: “When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them, but treat them as your native-born.”

That is extraordinarily clear. Treat them as your own. Not as a problem. As your own. And Senator Moody, these are your own.

These are Floridians.
These are people living in communities you represent.
Their children go to Florida schools.
They work in Florida businesses.
They worship and pastor in Florida churches.
They care for Florida seniors.
They contribute to communities across this state.
When you took a seat in the United States Senate, you did not just become the senator for Floridians who look like me.
You became a United States senator representing Florida.
That includes Haitian Floridians.
So they deserve an answer.
S. 4814 is before the Senate.
It would require the secretary of Homeland Security to designate Haiti for Temporary Protected Status through three months after January 20, 2029.

Senator Moody, you have power here.
You have a vote.
You have a voice.
You have a seat on the committee where this legislation has been sent.
You have a seat on the subcommittee specifically charged with immigration policy.
You represent the state with one of the largest Haitian communities in the United States.
So this is not somebody else's issue.
And that is why people are standing outside your office asking: Where is Ashley Moody?

To my Haitian siblings here today:
You are not invisible.
You are not statistics.
You are not somebody else's problem.
You are my neighbor.
You bear the image of God.
Your lives matter.
Your families matter.
Your fear matters.
And your questions deserve answers.
So we will keep asking them.

Where are you Ashley Moody?

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