Salisbury community members march against ICE raids
Salisbury, Md. – On Wednesday, dozens of demonstrators led by nationally recognized civil rights and social justice leader Bishop William Barber marched from the Rebirth Center to the Wicomico County Government Building in support of the Haitian community after courts upheld the decision to revoke Haitian Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
“They’re not [criminals]. And so that’s really it. It hurts, you know, it hurts,” 68-year-old Eden resident Jean St. Val said, adding that many Haitian former holders of TPS are hard-working and tax paying members of the community. However, St. Val and other members of the Haitian community said they were grateful to see the outpouring of support.
Hebrew St. Fleur is a business owner and Salisbury resident. He said he was glad to see people come to support the community. St. Fleur immigrated from Haiti in the late 1980s and moved from New York to Salisbury in the 1990s. He said he became a U.S. citizen and appreciated the city’s vibrant, welcoming spirit, which led him to raise a family here.
“It’s a family-oriented area. White, black, Hispanic. We all are like one family,” he said.
The march also served as a means to deliver a letter to and meet with Wicomico County Executive Julie Giordano. The letter, signed by Bishop and local faith leaders, condemned cooperation with ICE and called on the county to do more to protect residents from excessive force. Bishop and other faith leaders had sent Giordano the letter digitally beforehand, and on Wednesday, Giordano was not at the government building to meet with them.
The letter called on county and state leaders to enact protections for the local Haitian community amid TPS reversal, as thousands of Haitian immigrants set to be impacted reside in Wicomico County. Community leaders have been sounding the alarm since the Supreme Court’s first decision on the matter in June, saying they have observed increased U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) presence in the months following.
Giordano confirmed with WMDT that she received the letter, but said she couldn’t meet with them because of timing issues. In a statement, Giordano said the county is no longer participating in the 287(g) program and is not responsible for federal immigration enforcement actions in the community.
“I respect every person’s right to express concern about what is happening in our community, and I understand that families are experiencing fear and uncertainty,” she wrote. “But those conversations must be grounded in facts. Wicomico County has followed the law, and we will continue to do so while working to protect the safety and well-being of everyone who lives and works in our county.”
For those who came to the march, it was about solidarity with a community they say is under attack and which has contributed to the local economy and has built lives and lasting friendships.
“A lot of them have done the jobs people who look like me don’t want to take,” Stephanie Shultz said. “I cannot believe our government could be so cruel. So, I’m here to try to help change that.”
Shultz, a Delmar resident, is a retired English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teacher and said many in the Haitian community have been her students.
“They’re my students. And then they became my friends,” Shultz said, her voice tight.
