Who are the immigrant communities in Indiana? Some might be affected by policy change

The federal immigration policy changes rapidly under the direction of the newly elected president Donald J. Trump. Made a campaign on a platform for increasing deportations and from taking over the function, he issued Executive order and extending the application of federal immigration.

Changes to immigration policy and related actions by state leaders, they bring the role of immigrants in communities such as Indianapolis and throughout the state, in a clearer accent.

Here’s what we know about immigrants living here whose lives could be affected by these policy changes.

The Immigration Landscape in Indiana

The US immigration system is complex, with several immigration status and various federal agencies that supervise the application of immigration. This makes the data on the Indian immigrant population difficult to follow, because they are dispersed throughout the federal bureaucracy. Not all available public data is current.

Most hoosiers are American citizens

The vast majority of people living in Indiana are American citizens. The US Census Bureau classifies citizens in a series of different ways, but in its entirety, the agency estimates that only about 3.7% of Indian residents are not citizens. In Marion County, it is about 9% of people.

Non -marriages may or may not have the legal authorization to be in the country. Some can be a way to citizenship while others have temporary protection. The immigration state can be complicated, and some immigrants may have more than one status.

Refugees and asylum seekers

refugee They are individuals recognized by the US government as having a humanitarian concern. In order to qualify, they must demonstrate that they have been persecuted or have a reasonable fear of persecution related to race, religion, nationality, political opinion or belonging to a private social groupthat People lgbtq. US currently designates Afghan national as a group of refugees of special considerations.

In order to request a refugee status, a person must be outside the US and should not be reinstalled “firmly” to another country.

Asylum seekers must carry out the same qualifications as refugees but can only ask asylum if they are already in the USA

Trump has tried to end the US refugee relocation program but a recent federal judge stopped . This has affected A refugee relocation organization in Indiana.

Legal permanent inhabitants

Legal permanent inhabitants You have what is commonly called as a green card. They are eligible to live and work in the US and have certain other rights and privileges. If they meet specific requirements, they can also request for citizenship. SomeCLASSES“Among people can qualify for this status.

People without legal status

Some immigrants are not in a way to citizenship and do not have permanent or temporary protection. Federal law classifies these individuals as “unauthorized“But it’s not a complete picture.

In April 2024, the Office of Internal Security Statistics estimated that almost 11 million immigrants did not have legal status in 2022, the latest year of available data.

Trump said he wants his immigration policies to focus on deporting violent offenders in this group, but residents who comply with law without legal status are still Fearful that they could be arrested.

Children growing up in the US

Many children come to the border with the US in search of an opportunity to live in the country. While many of these children appear with their families, others get alone. The federal government considers these minors “Unaccompanied extraterrestrial children. “

In Indiana there were over 1,800 unaccompanied minors in Indiana, according to federal data.

Last year, the Federal Office of Unaccompanied Extraterrestrial Children – Part of the Department for Health and Human Services in the US – received nearly 100,000 complaints.

Some of these children run away from areas of conflict or insecure conditions in their origin countries. Others are victims of human trafficking. Within the American system, these children do not have legal status or the right to counseling in the immigration court. The refugee relocation office is obliged by law to provide food, shelter and medical care before placing them with sponsors while their cases are processed.

Children who are immigrants still have certain rights including The right to an education.

A recent memory from immigration and US customs application directs the Agency to increases his attention on unaccompanied minors.

Postponed action for childhood arrivals

Some immigrants exist in a legal gray area. They can have temporary protection provided by different federal authorities or policies, offering the conditional permission to live in the country. However, federal agencies can still consider them as Not being immigration status. If these protections are modified or do not maintain the necessary conditions, the permission of these immigrants to live in the US could be revoked.

One of these programs is the postponed action for childhood arrivals or IF. These immigrants are sometimes called “dreamers”. program It was established by former President Barack Obama in June 2012. It offers two-year protection to people who arrived in the US as children, at that time, did not have a legal status, were under 31 years old and met certain educational requirements as they get older. The two -year protection can be renewed as long as the person maintains eligibility and recurrence.

There are more than 7,600 beneficiaries if in the entire state.

Today, about 537,730 people have protection if. In accordance with the initial rules of the program, it is estimated 1.16 million people were eligible in 2023. Many dreamers lived, studied and worked in the US for most of their lives. However, the program faced continuous and long -term legal challenges The future remains uncertain.

Other temporary protection

There are temporary protection for some immigrants, including those in Indiana. But public or local data are not available immediately.

Trump signed Several executive orders related to immigrationincluding one who ENDED Two of these programs on his first day in office. These immigrants are still considered “unauthorized” by the federal government and can be some of the first people at risk or deportation procedures.

The administration of former President Joe Biden created an app called CBP one for people to ask asylum to the US-Mexico border. From January 2023 to December 2024, over 936,500 people used the app to schedule schedules.

Biden has also created ChnvA process of conditional freedom that offered two -year protection for eligible people in Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. Has given protection for approximately 531,690 people of the four countries.

The Secretary of Internal Security also has the ability to GRANTED Temporarily protected status or TPSpeople in countries for humanitarian reasons in accordance with the 1990 immigration law. Protection can be extended by secretary for 6, 12 or 18 months. Currently, there are 17 areas with TPS names.

But some of them will expire soon.

At the end of the Biden administration, former secretary of Alejandro Mayoras EXTENDED TPS for several countries. Venezuela has two separate names, from 2021 and 2023. On February 1, the new-confirmed internal security secretary, Kristi Noem has concluded the 2023 TPS designation, which will put an end to the protection for 348,202 persons From Venezuela, on April 7. Designation 2021 is currently established to expire in September for another 250,000 people.

And on February 20, Noem canceled The extension of the Biden administration of the designation of TPS from Haiti in 2026. Now, the designation will expire on August 3, 2025.

Another form of temporary protection is granted by the president. Called Delayed applied departureThe eligibility is established by the president and can be extended by DHS. People living in the US under DED do not have an immigration status, but are not subject to removal. People currently covered under DED include Palestinians and people from Lebanon and Liberia. Some people in Hong Kong have been protected by February 5, but are still listed on the USCIS site.

Indiana hosts communities of people born in countries around the world.

Contact Zak Cassel data journalist at [email protected].