Feature by Laurie Frederickson

The American Immigration Council estimates that more than 400,000 immigrants and refugees reside in Indiana. But recent state and national-level policy changes have left immigrants and refugees feeling uncertain and concerned for their futures. The 2025 Indiana State Legislative Session has seen a record-breaking 15 immigration-focused proposals, in addition to the 10 executive orders already signed into action by the Trump Administration. The effects of these policy changes have already been felt by a number of families and individuals, leaving many uncertain and afraid.

Sylvia McNair is on the Board of the Refugee Support Network, a Bloomington-based organization that is dedicated to supporting refugees and asylum seekers in adjusting to life in our community. She explained these policy changes came with almost immediate effects. 

“[T]here’s a story about a family who was waiting in a refugee camp to come to America, and the grandmother, who’s in her middle 70s, late 70s, somehow, because of the way the wheels turn, was told she could come first. And then she came, and of course, assumed the rest of her family, her children and grandchildren, would be following right behind, and that they would be able to all live together. Well, when Donald Trump put the brakes on the refugee resettlement program, the rest of the family was told they could not come. So here is a senior citizen woman, by herself, in a brand-new country and a culture that she knows nothing about,” said McNair.

Exodus Refugee, a Bloomington based Asylum-Seeker and Refugee support organization, featured a number of similar stories on their Instagram account. Omar, whose family was set to arrive on February 3rd, said “I don’t know how I’m going to tell them. I don’t know how I’m going to share this with them.” Pearl, another refugee receiving assistance from Exodus, pleaded, “But there’s still hope, right? We have been in the dark for so long. I want to know that there is still hope.”

Cassandra Sanborn, Director of Development at Exodus, explained how devastating it was to make calls to clients whose families would no longer be able to enter the US.

“I know we had called and told you that your family members were scheduled to come in February, but now they’re not going to make it anymore, because they’re not allowed to come to the country anymore,” said Sanborn.

***

It’s challenging to anticipate exactly what the results of so many simultaneous policy changes will be. Bloomington-based Immigration Attorney Christie Popp shares what she sees as the greatest implications of Trump’s executive orders. 

“[O]ne sets forth new enforcement priorities. So, it rescinds the enforcement priorities of the Biden administration and sets forth new enforcement priorities. It expands what’s called expedited removal. It calls for the detention of basically everybody who is in removal proceedings, which is what we call deportation proceedings. It reviews funding to non-governmental organizations that work with immigrants and limits the use of humanitarian categories like Temporary Protected Status and Humanitarian Parole,” said Popp. 

“The people who will really be affected are people who have no legal status whatsoever, no immigration status, or maybe they have immigration status, but it is in a category of temporary status that has been ended by the Trump administration, or they recently came into the United States,” she said. 

Many have expressed concerns that these executive orders are overreaching and infringing upon basic rights. For Popp, the expansion of expedited removal is one such area of concern.

 “Expedited removal is the removal of immigrants from the United States without due process. . .Previously, expedited removal was limited to within 100 miles of the border and two weeks or 14 days of entry. . .Now, expedited removal has been expanded to include everyone, everywhere in the United States who has been here for two years or less. . .so basically, the ICE officer is the prosecutor, the judge, and the jury in that sense,” she said

Popp also noted that the new executive orders overturned what the Biden Administration had labeled Humanitarian Parole. Under Humanitarian Parole, the United States welcomed people from Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Haiti, Ukraine, and Afghanistan.

“[M]illions of people have been allowed in on these parole statuses. The Trump administration has rescinded the memos that allowed and the processes that allowed for parole. And parole is not very old. It’s less than two years. So, most of those people will be subjected to expedited removal. So, these are people who were welcomed here by our government, who have lawful status, who have now had that status rescinded, and are now going to be subjected, possibly to expedited removal if they have not filed for asylum already,” she said.

Refugee Support Network’s McNair highlights that it is not just national policies that are having an impact, but that state policies can also carry serious implications. 

“Oh, it’s just terrifying. . .there are 15 bills in front of the legislature in the state of Indiana, which are anti-immigrant and anti-immigration. This is an unprecedented number of anti-immigration bills in a legislative session. It’s so overwhelming. House Bill 1399, for example, makes it a crime, a crime, to live in Indiana as an undocumented person. . .Governor Braun and Attorney General Rokita have just passed this law that says police officers must always report everything to ICE, to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. So, these are the kinds of things that are happening in the Indiana State Legislature that are so anti-immigrant,” said McNair. 

Popp echoes these concerns, adding that Governor Mike Braun has issued an executive order that “seems like he’s seeking to order the Indiana State Investigation and Law Enforcement agencies to cooperate with ICE.” She adds that Trump’s view of immigration as a “military invasion” could lead to an unprecedented expansion of government powers. 

“[T]here’s a little-known provision in the Immigration Act that has literally never been. Enforced that would allow the federal government to basically deputize state officials to become immigration officials. Now this is super problematic, because I can tell you, just from talking to ICE agents, from talking to immigration agents, that their knowledge of immigration is pretty limited. They go through some training, but they don’t know the full scope of immigration. Now that these are people who have received training in immigration to deputize and allow local law enforcement to do immigration enforcement is pretty dangerous. I think there’s going to be quite a bit of racial profiling,” Popp said. 

Given this push for deportation, it is important for folks to take extra precautions to protect themselves. Exodus has been recommending that clients carry a copy of their work permit or green card wherever they go. McNair urged impacted people, such as IU students on green cards, to be hypervigilant and minimize risks. 

“[T]o IU students and to all, all of our immigrant friends in Bloomington, live very carefully. Be very careful, and don’t take unnecessary risks. Don’t draw attention to yourself. . .unless it’s something you feel passionately about. But be very careful with how you live, and don’t take unnecessary risks.”

Popp wanted to remind people of their rights in the event that they come into contact with ICE officers. Popp shared some practical advice on interacting with ICE officers. 

“If ICE shows up people, they are law enforcement. So, you people should not run, they should not resist. They shouldn’t do anything like that. But they do have the legal right to not speak to ICE. So, if an ICE officer questions, then they have the right to remain silent. Now they may have to say their name under Indiana law, but they don’t have to say where they’re from or offer any papers to show that they have lawful status. They have the right to remain silent, and they have the right to ask the officer if they’re free to go, if ICE shows up at someone’s house again, unless they have a search warrant or an arrest warrant signed by a judge, they do not have to be let into the house, so people do not have to open their doors to ICE. They can ask for the ICE officer to slide the warrant under the door, but they do not have to let ICE in. They do not have to go with ICE if it’s just an administrative warrant. Finally, if ICE shows up at someone’s workplace, it’s the same rules. You shouldn’t run, you shouldn’t resist, but you don’t have to speak to them, you don’t have to offer anything other than your name,” said Popp.

Even in light of the uncertainty, Exodus has been encouraging their clients to try and maintain a sense of normalcy by continuing to go to work, school, and doctor’s appointments. Cassandra Sanborn, Director of Development said

“We’ve had clients call and say, ‘should I be going to work? Is it safe to go to the doctor? Should I send my kids to school?’ And our answer to those things is yes. We want you to go to work, we want you to go to the doctor, we want you to send your kids to school. You should still be doing those things, but it’s absolutely understandable that folks are wondering about that and that they are experiencing that fear in their daily life,” said Sanborn.

***

Though it is easy to feel powerless among all this policy change, Popp, McNair, and Sanborn all emphasized the importance of contacting your representatives. 

Popp said to “[W]ork with your local governments. Work with the state, so go and talk to your legislators at the General Assembly and talk about how these measures are harmful to your neighbors, to your employees, etc.,”

McNair acknowledges that while it may feel at times like no one is listening, speaking out is the most powerful tool we have.

“[C]ontinue speaking out and standing up for this issue. Write, call your representative. I know I don’t do that enough. I’m the first to confess that I don’t do that enough, because it feels like nobody’s listening in Indianapolis, in our legislature, it feels like no one’s listening. But I have to believe that some of the aides for the elected officials might be paying a little bit of attention to emails and phone messages about supporting supporting immigrants in Indiana”

Sanborn recommended talking to local officials, emphasizing to “say thank you when they say that they still want our community to be welcoming for refugees”

A number of local officials, including Bloomington Mayor Kerry Thomson and City Council President Hopi Stosberg, have all affirmed their commitment to supporting refugees. Stosberg opened the January 22nd City Council meeting by saying:

“Members of our community have all been incredibly welcoming, and I just want to highlight this piece that is Bloomington and I for one hope that we can continue to be that welcoming vision to people who come into our community, regardless of where it is that they’re coming from,” said Stosberg. 

Stosberg, who has previously volunteered with Exodus Refugee, spoke to the importance of empathy. 

“[O]ne thing that’s important to remember is that immigrant refugees are like, they’re all just people too, right? And they’re all just trying, at the base to, like, establish a life for themselves, and that makes them no different than anybody else, and so just kind of keeping that in mind, and a lot of the national rhetoric like It, you know, it centers around, say, criminality or highlights, cultural differences that are either completely untrue or blown out of proportion. And it can, you know, it’s like breeding in this culture of fear of the other, and so people just kind of recognizing that that’s not accurate necessarily, and that it takes getting to know somebody and just giving people equal chance and not buying into stereotypes that they might get exposed to on the media,” said Stosberg.

Sanborn notes her gratitude for officials like Stosberg who have spoken up in support of refugees and immigrants. 

“We are so thrilled whenever we hear officials saying that they still want to continue to support immigrants and refugees in particular. I think continuing to say that publicly is really important so that people continue to hear messages that this is a safe community. This is a place where we want people to know that they are welcome and that they are safe. . .I think it’s great when local officials stand up and say, hey, is this the role of local police, or even saying, like IUPD did that up in Indianapolis, that they’re not going to participate in immigration enforcement because, quite frankly, they have a lot of other things on their plate that they need to be doing. So, I think continuing to make statements that they are supportive of this population, continuing to take positions on things is really helpful in order to make people in our community feel safe,” said Sanborn.

These kinds of comments, Sanborn believes, are powerful because they humanize and shed light on the refugee experience. The most crucial thing at times like this is to approach issues with understanding, and as she says, to “arm ourselves with facts.”

“I’ve had so many clients tell me over the years that they don’t want people to look at them with fear. And when misinformation gets out of hand, it’s really easy for people to be afraid of immigrants and of refugees. And so, when we refuse to be afraid, and when we say kind things, when we smile at people, when we see them in line at the store with us, or when we are welcoming to the people that we may be in class with or that we may be working with. That really goes a long way to letting people know that we want them here and we do welcome them,” said Sanborn

McNair echoes this, highlighting that refugees do not take refuge by choice. 

“No one chooses to leave everything behind—everyone, their families, their homes, their careers—they leave because they aren’t safe. So I will just tell you. I would love to share with you that the people I have met through the Refugee Support Network in Bloomington are some of the bravest and strongest people I’ve ever met. They are grateful. They are kind. They want to work and pay tax. They want to be part of our community and volunteer at their children’s schools and take food to the mosque on Friday evenings or whatever their faith tradition is, they want to be part of our community, and they are so grateful for even the smallest things,” said McNair. 

Council member Stosberg continuously emphasized how important kindness and empathy are, explaining that while policies might change, the character of our community members will not. 

“I think overall, for the most part, it’s down to individuals being nice, being moral, being good humans. And I don’t think that national legislation suddenly makes somebody who’s generally a good, decent person who is kind to their neighbors suddenly not be good, decent, and kind anymore,” said McNair

She encourages us to come together as a community and support each other. 

“[R]emembering to lean on people who you know you can trust and who you know love you and who you know will support you. It takes a community. And I think that there are a lot of really, really strong components in Bloomington of communities of support.” said McNair

Our community has multiple resources for support. The Refugee Support Network aids refugees and asylum seekers, and information can be found at bloomingtonrefugees.com. Information regarding Exodus Refugee, including how to sign up to volunteer, may be found at exodusrefugee.org. Indiana Legal Services has a toll-free hotline providing free assistance to folks with limited English proficiency and may be reached at (866) 964-2138. A number of organizations may be able to provide free legal assistance, Indiana Legal Services and the Human Rights Commission who can be reached at Monroe County Human Rights Commission.