End of Haitian TPS Status Could Cost Indiana 2,000 Health Workers

INDIANAPOLIS — A June 25 U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians and Syrians could have ripple effects across Indiana’s healthcare sector and broader economy.

With work authorizations for Haitian TPS holders set to expire as early as July 24, community advocates are raising concerns on the impending loss of thousands of essential Hoosier workers.

Indiana is home to approximately 11,000 Haitian TPS holders—the 8th largest population in the nation—with roughly 7,000 actively participating in the state’s workforce across critical industries such as logistics, food production, and long-term care.

According to data from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), at least 20% of all Haitian TPS holders in the U.S. work in healthcare, predominantly serving as certified nursing assistants (CNAs), personal care aides, and home health aides. Applying these estimates to Indiana, the state faces the potential loss of over 2,000 healthcare workers—which could potentiall strain a system already being hit with a nationwide nursing shortage.

Gurinder Kaur, CEO of the Indianapolis-based Immigrant Welcome Center, emphasized the essential role these individuals play in daily Hoosier life:

“Just looking at Indiana… there’s about 7,000 community members who are TPS holders who work in the Hoosier workforce. These include stockers and packers and delivery drivers… our food deliveries and other aspects of our logistics industry, including meatpacking industry… these would be impacted if the TPS was no longer available.”

Beyond healthcare, the termination of TPS could threaten economic disruption. Nationally, Haitian TPS holders contribute $5.9 billion to the economy. In Indiana alone, their contributions total $209 million annually, along with $28 million in state and local taxes and $27 million in federal and payroll taxes. In Indianapolis, the economic footprint of Haitian TPS holders is estimated at $136 million.

Kaur notes that TPS is a vital, government-granted protection for individuals fleeing extreme hardships who are legally authorized to work and contribute:

“It is a government protection which is granted by the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to eligible foreign-born individuals who are unable to return to their countries of origin… due to war, civil war, environmental disaster, or epidemics. Haitian community members who live in Indiana and in the United States are unable to return safely to their country at this time.”

Because TPS is temporary and granted in increments of 6 to 18 months, holders often lack direct pathways to permanent residency or citizenship under current federal law, despite their rooted lives in local communities.\

For Kaur, who immigrated to the U.S. as a healthcare professional before becoming a naturalized citizen, the debate over TPS ultimately comes down to people striving to build a better life:

“Immigrants leave their home countries many times because they want a better life for themselves… They buy homes, they are entrepreneurs, and they are adding to the richness of the fabric of our lives. Immigrants are here to make a better life for themselves, their families, and their children.”