On Saturday, January 17, an ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) transportation vehicle was seen near Center at Stop 11 and Madison, close to the Saraga Supermarket, an international grocery store frequented by immigrant residents. The sighting comes amid ongoing federal immigration enforcement operations in the Twin Cities area.
In recent weeks there has been major federal immigration enforcement activity in and around Minneapolis–Saint Paul, while large ICE operations have been ongoing with thousands of federal immigration officers deployed.
This is a first sighting of ICE activity in Indianapolis, wreaking concern amongst local citizens. “I heard someone say they saw them across the street,” manager of Saraga, Daniel Mun said.
Raising questions of their placement, students and families avoided their everyday convenience stores. “Me and my dad were making a trip to Kroger when he told me he was afraid of going in because ‘ICE might be there’,” Sierra Contreras said.
That fear extends beyond individuals and into the businesses that serve them.
On July 14th, 2025, President Donald J. Trump terminated TPS in Afghanistan later cascading to various countries, including Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Cameroon, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia and Myanmar. This has imposed a foreign employer’s lawful place in the workforce, leaving them without stable legal income.
Temporary Protective Status (TPS) is a humanitarian program run by the U.S. government, granting temporary legal status to foreign nationals already in the country when their home nations are experiencing extraordinary hardships. These hardships can include armed conflict, environmental disasters or other “extraordinary and temporary conditions” that make it unsafe to return home.
Since its creation in 1990, TPS has provided protection to hundreds of thousands of people from countries like El Salvador, Haiti, Syria and Nepal. Beneficiaries are allowed to obtain work authorization and are shielded from deportation for the duration of their designation.
TPS can be a path to permanent residency or citizenship. Allowing eligible individuals to live and work legally in the U.S. for a designated period, typically ranging from six to 18 months, including status renewal if conditions in their home country remain dangerous. However, according to uscis.gov, TPS is separate from Permanent Resident Cards (green cards) and visas; the protection it provides is still fragile. Under U.S. law and USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) guidance, TPS is a temporary benefit that does not by itself create lawful permanent resident status or any other immigration status like a visa. Though it protects foreign citizens from removal, and allows work authorization while the designation is in effect, it does not ensue permanent residency or citizenship.
As several countries lose TPS, many immigrants living in the U.S. are increasingly concerned with their citizen stability and legal protection. With Myanmar set to lose TPS on Jan. 26, many Burmese Americans are now fearing their place in this country.
U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly ordered the Trump administration on Friday Jan., 23 to delay the terminations of TPS for Myanmar. This order to prevent mass deportation protects around 4,000 Myanmar nationals living in the U.S. Furthermore postponing the effective date of the government’s action set for Monday, now scheduled a February 6 hearing in the case.
Myanmar has been in political turmoil since the military seized power in 2021–sparking a nationwide armed resistance. Flagging issues that “[…] TPS was terminated to effectuate the Secretary’s broader goal of curtailing immigration and eliminating TPS generally, not on [Kristi Noem] evaluation of changed conditions in Burma,” Kennelly said.
TPS is currently effective for Myanmar as conditions remain inhabitable for Burmese citizens under legal protection, but that is impermanent as it was a judge ordered extension.
In response to fears, there are informational guides outlining individuals’ rights when encountering ICE aiming to provide clarity and reassurance amid growing uncertainty available online.
