Thousands of people in Indiana lost their legal right to live and work in the state last month. Most of them are from Haiti. Communities across the state are feeling the impact.
The US grants temporary protection status (TPS) to people fleeing dangerous circumstances. Many Haitians gained that legal status more than a decade ago and moved to Indiana. It is one of the fastest growing immigrant populations in the state, with an estimated 10,000 Haitians here on TPS. Roughly 7,000 of those also worked.
A ruling by the US Supreme Court in June allowed the Trump administration to terminate TPS for Haitians and Syrians.
Pastor Gary Alphonse serves as senior pastor at Jesus Christ Worship Center on the westside of Indianapolis. He said last December he had about one-thousand people attend service. Recently — no more than 200 showed up.
“They are afraid to go outside,” he said.
Alphonse is also from Haiti, now a US citizen. He said many parishioners that lost TPS now struggle to pay bills and afford basic expenses.
“Right now, a lot of them lose their job, and they really face a lot of difficulties right now,” Alphonse said.
Some consider moving back to Haiti despite safety risks there.
“We have people who said, “I want to go to Haiti. I don’t want to stay here. I want to go to Haiti,”” Alphonse said. “I encourage them and saying that that thing will not stay like this. Be patient. God can do something. Be patient. Be patient.”
Jesus Christ Worship Center has covered some of those costs and organized a food pantry.
The church is one of many non-profits across the state trying to fill the gap including the Indianapolis Immigrant Welcome Center and Haitian Grassroots Coalition of Midwest.
Immigrant advocates say the change will negatively impact the state’s workforce and economy.
Haitians contribute about $30 million annually in state and local taxes, according to advocacy group FWD.
Immigrant Welcome Center CEO Gurinder Kaur said Haitians work in agriculture, healthcare and hospitality.
“The deliveries, the comforts that we are used to, the care that is being provided as various professional affiliations and the work that they do is going to be impacted,” Kaur said.
Kaur said the effects on the workforce will be clearer in the coming months.
Logansport’s Haitian population increased after TPS was first granted for the country.
The city garnered attention from a national partisan publication that claimed the town was overrun by immigrants.
Libby Nelson is an immigration lawyer that grew up in Logansport and said the Haitian community prevented population decline of the rural community and contributed to an economic boom.
“We’re not just talking about people that exist separate from our community. We’re talking about our coworkers, our neighbors, our business customers,” Nelson said. “So with TPS ending and those consequences, I think our community is going to be really affected economically because we're losing these individuals.”
Nelson said there are still questions of next steps for people impacted but they should reach out to a lawyer to review their options.
Contact WFYI All Things Considered newscaster and reporter Samantha Horton at shorton@wfyi.org or on Signal at SamHorton.05
