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At the beginning the administration’s immigration crackdown, some parents stopped sending their children to school, Mesamours said. That’s happening less now, but fear and anxiety have become more entrenched. To avoid encounters with ICE, he and other advocates in Indy’s Haitian community say many people are staying inside, attending celebrations behind closed doors, missing appointments, losing jobs and falling behind on bills.
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That changes if TPS goes away. Haitians with TPS status living in Indiana and other states could become eligible for deportation overnight.
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Haiti was first granted TPS designation in 2010 when a catastrophic 7.0-earthquake struck the island nation, resulting in 220,000 dead, 300,000 injured, one million displaced people and severely damaging infrastructure. Port-Au-Prince was the epicenter for the devastation.
The status was supposed to be temporary, but it’s been extended several times in the more than 15 years since the earthquake as Haiti has fallen further into poverty, gang violence and civil unrest, and negative economic growth.
Mesamours, who briefly worked for the United Nations, said conditions worsened even more about two or three years prior to the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse. Another 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck that year as well, bringing devastation to rural areas.
That earthquake killed more than 2,200 people, injured over 12,000 others and destroyed thousands of homes.
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The administration’s determination to end TPS for multiple nations has been met with legal challenges. In some instances, federal judges have allowed TPS to expire ― as it did with most Venezuelans holding the designation. Some Venezuelans still have valid status until Oct. 2.
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As of March 31, 2025, an estimated 1.3 million foreign nationals in the United States were protected from removal by TPS, including 34,575 individuals who listed Indiana as their state of residence, according to a report from the Congressional Research Service which compiles reports and data for Congress.
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The Indianapolis Metro Area is home to nearly 11,000 foreign-born people from Burma, roughly 6,700 from Honduras, 4,700 from El Salvador, 6,600 from Haiti and 6,000 from Venezuela.
Individuals with temporary protected status can also seek an adjustment of status and pursue asylum or other forms of legal status. Leaders in Indianapolis’ Burmese and Ethiopian communities say few individuals residing here have TPS.
Nationwide, some 350,000 Haitians are estimated to be living in the U.S. with the humanitarian protections. {snip}
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The post Haitians in Indiana Fear Deportation as TPS Status Hangs in Balance appeared first on American Renaissance.
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