Thousands of Haitian nationals with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) have found a home in the Hoosier city of Logansport — drawing national political ire and motivating new federal legislation.

But area officials — and Gov. Eric Holcomb — say the north-central city of 18,000 isn’t in crisis.

“Are there challenges? Absolutely,” Rep. Ethan Manning, R-Logansport, said. “Is it as bad as some of the national media is portraying it? No.”

A political action committee supporting Donald Trump for president on Tuesday highlighted Logansport in a campaign missive. Also on Tuesday Third District GOP Congressman Jim Banks also cited Logansport when filing a bill cracking down on immigration.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security can designate people from another country for TPS when conditions there are so bad that nationals can’t return safely, or the country can’t adequately oversee their return, according the agency’s website.

Sixteen countries are on the list, including Haiti. It’s set to expire in early 2026 after a recent redesignation by DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Last month, the U.S. State Department updated its “do not travel” advisory for Haiti — the most severe warning available — citing civil unrest, crimes and kidnappings. The agency noted there’s limited health care in cases of injury or illness and said shortages of gasoline, electricity and medical supplies are common.

Logansport Mayor Chris Martin has previously estimated that 2,000 to 3,000 Haitian people have come to the city in the last four years. He wasn’t available for comment Wednesday.

Manning said Martin and Police Chief Travis Yike had reported no increase in violent crime. But, he noted an increase in traffic violations.

Manning also recounted speaking with Tyson Foods officials, who run a meat processing plant in Logansport. He said Haitian employees aren’t on Medicaid since Tyson offers health insurance starting “day one,” and that the company doesn’t provide free housing or large-scale transportation.

Logansport Community School Corporation Superintendent Michele Starkey said the district was “operating as normal” and is “not overrun” in comments last week to the Pharos-Tribune.

The district has an estimated 205 Haitian students this school year, according to the publication, and 93 are new.

Starkey was unfazed. She described how a “fast and furious” influx of Hispanic residents about 25 years ago has prepared the district to better serve immigrant students.

“Now, when we get a new group of immigrants that we haven’t had, we know what to do,” she told the Pharos-Tribune. “We meet kids where they are and figure out how to plug them into our system according to what their needs are.”

Manning agreed.

“Certainly, there are more Haitians than we’ve had before, but immigration generally is nothing new to Logansport. We’ve had roughly 30% Hispanic population within the city for a long time,” he said. “Our schools have been over 50% English language learners for several years. They’ve got an awesome program for newcomers, their teachers are trained, and they’ve made it work.”

But he desired more resources, like English language-learning funding, to support the city’s efforts.

Manning is also concerned about hospital resources as births have jumped and a Haitian Creole interpreter was hired to help.

“It’s not like we’re a sanctuary city. We’re not going to turn away the feds if they want to come in and check things out,” he said. “But my focus is on making sure the hospital, the schools (and) local governments have the resources necessary to deal with a problem we didn’t create.”

Logansport on the national stage

Some national outlets have seized on Logansport as a “tiny town” being “overwhelmed” by Haitian newcomers.

It’s making political waves, particularly among Republicans working at the federal level.

“American towns and cities are being completely overrun by migrants let into our country by (Vice President) Kamala (Harris),” read a Tuesday news release from the Make America Great Again political action committee. It cited a Fox News article.

“From schools to hospitals, government services are being overwhelmed. Many of these communities are also seeing an INCREASE IN CRIME,” the release continued.” Kamala has shown us time and time again, she puts migrants above American citizens. With President Trump, it’s America First always.”

Holcomb, a Republican, appeared to bristle at the accusations on Wednesday.

“Our immigration policy is largely federal, so if any ball has been dropped, it’s been at the federal level,” he told the Capital Chronicle.

“This is a country that was built on — literally founded and fought for — by immigrants,” Holcomb continued. “… When I look at the increase in Logansport itself, and you recognize the legal status of these immigrants that the light has been shown on, this is what the community has said: that we need and want more people to work and to grow our population.”

Manning acknowledged that the immigrants have helped Cass County buck the trend of rural population decline while also urging the federal government to help communities with resources. Overall, he said the community is split.

“I hear comments from both perspectives, both extremes, so I don’t know that there’s a single community response that I can point to.”

The spotlight on Logansport has motivated legislation. Banks, of Columbia City, introduced the ” End Executive Branch Amnesty Act” on Wednesday. It takes aim at TPS.

The bill would restrict designations to one year and require congressional approval. Congress would need to make extensions using dedicated acts.

It would also limit immigration parole to “case-by-case humanitarian emergencies,” with a “hard cap” of 1,000 people annually, according to the one-pager. Immigration parole is

temporary federal authorization allowing noncitizens to enter or remain in the U.S. for humanitarian reasons.

The legislation includes provisions tightening policies for unaccompanied minors and banning the use of DHS-issued documents as valid identification in airport security checks. It would repeal “cancellation of removal,” in which migrants can ask judges for status adjustments.

“Small towns across our nation like Logansport, Indiana, are bearing the brunt of the Biden-Harris White House’s reckless open border policies. It’s time for Congress to secure our border once and for all,” Banks said in a news release.

He accused President Joe Biden’s administration of having “abused the laws on the books to grant millions of non-citizens legal status,” adding, “Republicans must restore our immigration system to Congress’s original intent and ensure parole is only used as a last-ditch humanitarian measure to help foreign nationals in times of catastrophe.”

The post Logansport officials say immigration ‘nothing new’ as Haitian influx goes national appeared first on News Now Warsaw.

By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw

WARSAW — Lindsay Anderson Fillippe had a whirlwind weekend.

The Chapman Lake native who runs a Christian school in Haiti, had been home for a few months, unable to return to Haiti due to violence that had erupted in Port-au-Prince last year and led to the ouster a political leader as gangs took control across the capital city.

But on Saturday, hours after helping oversee a trail trek fundraiser for the school in Winona Lake, she jumped on a plane to the island nation in time to see her latest group of students graduate.

Best of all, the weekend fundraiser, with the support of a $10,000 matching grant, was able to generate $20,000 for the school. 

Much like the trail trek, life in Haiti — and progress with the school — have faced obstacles.

[caption id="attachment_96369" align="alignright" width="300"] Lindsay Anderson Fillippe (L) is pictured Saturday with Shawna Ewert, who helped organize the trail trek fundraiser. Photo provided.[/caption]

The school, HSM — short for "Heart Soul Mind Strength" — opened seven years ago.

"These past two years, despite Haiti being very crazy, we were super blessed to launch a campaign to build a school," she said Friday while in Warsaw.

Despite ongoing turmoil in the poverty-stricken country, school leaders finished construction of a new facility with 12 classrooms — big enough to serve 175 students.

Soon after opening last year, the school closed because of a violent uprising in Port Au Prince that paralyzed much of the country for months.

Voice of America reported there were nearly 5,000 homicides in Haiti last year, more than double in 2022, a United Nations report said.

Earlier this year, there was an effort to establish a transitional presidential council as well as an effort to appoint an interim prime minister.

At the same time, a Kenyan peacekeeping coalition arrived, but Anderson Fillipe said she believed gangs remained in control.

HSMS is located in Jérémie on the western edge of Haiti's southwest peninsula.

Anderson Fillippe was eager to return in time to participate in the graduation and did it just hours before the ceremony.

While she understands how bad the conditions are, she also tends to set aside concern about the violence, saying the worst of that remains in Port-au-Prince.

"It has been like this for three years," she said.

Earlier this year, her concerns were heightened temporarily after learning that two missionaries from the United States who were well-established inside the country, were killed.

While it caused a moment of pause, Anderson Fillippe's intentions remained undaunted.

"I would always like to think that since I've been there so long, everybody knows me, but you can't please everyone. Even Jesus had people who hated him," she said.

The school was shut during the height of chaos in January and February and classes were then extended afterward to make up for lost time, she said.

[caption id="attachment_96357" align="aligncenter" width="696"] A participant in Saturday's Trail Trek gingerly crosses an obstacle. Photo provided.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_96356" align="aligncenter" width="696"] A photo from Sunday's graduation ceremony in Haiti. Photo provided.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_96358" align="aligncenter" width="679"] A participant in Saturday's Trail Trek. Photo provided.[/caption]

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WARSAW —  MudLOVE, the iconic nonprofit group that makes popular bracelets and mugs to benefit impoverished people, has closed its manufacturing space on Buffalo Street in downtown Warsaw.

But the operation, which celebrated 14 years earlier this month, isn’t closing.

Instead, it’s ramping up production in the Dominican Republic and relying on exploited Haitian refugee women who ended up in the Dominican.

MudLOVE shifted its sales operations recently to an office in Winona Lake and has been moving its manufacturing base to the Dominican Republic for two years, according to owner Caleb France,

France spoke from the Dominican on Friday and said he was eager to explain the change, given the number of people who noticed the storefront on Buffalo Street had been shuttered.

The move solves a labor problem they found in the US while also helping refugees.

MudLOVE had had its manufacturing space on Buffalo Street for more than ten years, France said.

“I understand it kind of looks scary that MudLOVE is moving out of downtown, but for us, it’s been a goal we’ve tried to achieve for two years," France said.

“We employ about 30 Haitian women, all refugees, here in the Dominican Republic and for the last two years, our goal has been to take all our production in Warsaw and move it down here to hire as many women as possible to help them out,” France said.

MudLOVE uses a holistic approach that provides education, offers counseling and makes micro loans available, he said.

What precipitated the changes was the acquisition of a company in the DR with a local connection.

France bought an existing company, Vida Plena (meaning “full life”), about two years ago from Josh and Erin Porter, a couple from Warsaw who had been splitting their time in the Dominican with a workshop that was helping with MudLOVE and two schools that helped women through the Warsaw-based Second Mile Missions organization.

“It’s all a Warsaw kind of thing,” France said.

An estimated 5,000 refugees live near the Dominican shop and many of them had been either coerced or kidnapped before arriving in the Dominican, France said.

Most of them were forced into the sex trade or cheap labor.

France said they offer three times the local wage and enter impoverished neighborhoods to look for people they believe can be helped and are talented.

The move is allowing MudLOVE to ramp up production.

"We can do almost 2,000 bracelets a day down here, which is really incredible,” France said.

Like many operations in the United States, MudLOVE has faced a labor shortage in recent years.

"We’ve seen a challenge over the last few years with just finding enough labor. It’s really tough," he said.

France said they’ve been open about their long-term plan with employees, some of whom lost their jobs as a result.

He did not say how many local employees lost their jobs.

He also added that another company is expected to move into the store at 122 S. Buffalo St., in the near future but declined to elaborate.

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