Pastor deported to Haiti after traffic stop despite pending green card bid
Sep 24, 2026·Location: York, PA
Country of origin: Haiti

Pastor Molis Augustave, 33, a faith leader in York, Pennsylvania and former organizer with We Are CASA, was detained after West Manchester Township police stopped him over a reportedly broken headlight while he was driving for DoorDash and turned him over to ICE under the township's 287(g) agreement. He had an approved I-130 petition, a pending I-485 green card application, a pending motion to reopen before the Board of Immigration Appeals, and a federal habeas corpus petition, but was deported to Haiti after 19 days in detention alongside 38 other Haitians. An advocacy campaign led by his U.S.-citizen wife, Omara Boniface Nunez, briefly got him pulled from an initial deportation flight, but USCIS denied his green card application days later. While detained, he led a Bible study group and counseled a fellow detainee who was contemplating suicide. His wife and their two U.S.-born children, Isaac and Sofia, remain in York, where he pastored a congregation, and his Motion to Reopen remains pending.
Timeline
Sources
- Pastor loses bid to remain: ICE deports him to Haiti despite U.S.-citizen wife, kids
Miami Herald·Sep 24, 2026·archived copy
- ICE Deports Pastor Molis Augustave to Haiti – We Are CASA
- 19 Days From Broken Headlight To Removal – Pastor Molis Augustave Deported To Haiti - Grenada Chronicle – Daily Grenada And Caribbean News
grenadachronicle.com·Sep 27, 2026
- 19 Days From Broken Headlight To Removal – Pastor Molis Augustave Deported To Haiti - St. Lucia Chronicle – Daily St Lucia News
stluciachronicle.com·Sep 27, 2026
- 19 Days From Broken Headlight To Removal – Pastor Molis Augustave Deported To Haiti - St. Kitts Gazette – Daily News from St Kitts And Nevis
stkittsgazette.com·Sep 27, 2026
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