Haitian community leader weighs in on state and federal immigration actions

Within his first few weeks President Donald Trump signed several executive orders around immigration and increased deportation efforts. Those federal actions are being felt in the Indiana Haitian community according to one local leader.

Haitian Association of Indiana executive director Leonce Jean-Baptiste said the volatility in immigration policy has created unease.

“So the fear is probable, and people are, you know, they are expressing that either by not sending their kids to school or not going to work themselves,” Jean-Baptiste said.

Families and individuals are in the U.S. on a variety of immigration programs including humanitarian parole, family reunification and Temporary Protection Status — given to people from countries deemed unsafe because of armed conflict, environmental disaster or extraordinary conditions.

Last month the Trump administration ended a Biden-era humanitarian parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV). The administration has also announced that the 2023 Temporary Protection Status (TPS) for Venezuelans would not be extended, leaving uncertainty that other countries could lose status in the future.

Jean-Baptiste said he supports immigration reform, but believes it needs to be something that goes through Congress and not presidential executive orders.

“Right now we have measures that are blanketed and to affect everyone, no matter their status,” he said. “So that nuance that needs to exist when it's a law, I think it's what we all are hoping for. But you know, hope is all we have at this point.”

Jean-Bapiste added that many Haitains came to the U.S. with legal status and contribute to Indiana’s economy, but are unsure of their future now.

“It's very disruptive,” he said.

Indiana is home to more than 12,000 Haitians according to the 2022 American Community Survey.

Contact WFYI All Things Considered newscaster and reporter Samantha Horton at shorton@wfyi.org.