Migration to Rural Indiana

Population loss has been a major problem in rural Indiana for decades.  For example, rural Indiana’s population declined by 2.3% over the 2010s.¹ Yet over the past decade, migration to rural Southern Indiana from foreign nations has surged. Immigration will not make up for this population loss, but it has played a role in weakening the effects. Though rural Indiana had an overall population decline of 7,349 between 2000 to 2019, it received 12,385 immigrants in the same period,² demonstrating the role immigrants play in stabilizing the population of rural counties. A majority of the immigrants incoming during that time, around 61%, come from Latin America. Recently there have been increases in migrants from Haiti and Asian countries.²  

 Of the recent immigrant communities in rural Indiana, people coming from Haiti are the fastest growing additions. Between 2019 and 2023, the number of migrants coming from Haiti to Indiana increased by a factor of eight.³ This mirrored a national trend of migrants from Haiti immigrating to more industrial states as opposed to traditional destinations such as New York and Florida.  

Marion County currently hosts the largest immigrant population from Haiti in Indiana. The second largest county welcoming immigrants from Haiti is Daviess County, a rural county in southwestern Indiana. The county seat, Washington, is home to the largest population of immigrants per capita hailing from Haiti in the state.^{4, 5} People emigrating from Haiti account for 5% of the population there.  

Cass County in Northern Indiana has the second highest population of migrants from Haiti in the state per capita at 1.3%.⁴ Migrants from Haiti are attracted to both Cass and Daviess counties due to available industrial jobs. Since 2019, between 2,000 to 3,000 migrants from Haiti have moved to Logansport, the Cass County seat.⁶ While school and hospital officials in Logansport stated they were not overwhelmed, there is a desire for more resources to better meet the needs of migrants.⁶  

The most common country of origin for immigrants in Indiana, whether in rural, suburban, or urban counties, is Mexico. People emigrating from Mexico make up 24.6% of Indiana’s immigrant population.⁷ This migration trend presents different challenges when compared to migration from Haiti and central and south Asia. Spanish is commonly spoken in Indiana and is the most commonly taught second language. There are many teachers and medical professionals who are fluent in Spanish as well as many professional translators. Indiana has more than enough professionals with the skills to help meet these migrants’ needs; the larger challenge is making sure that these services are available. On the other hand, finding translators for less commonly spoken languages like Haitian Creole can pose a larger challenge.⁶ Additionally, immigration from Mexico to rural Indiana is a much older trend than immigration from Haiti or south Asian countries, which has given school systems time to adjust to the needs of immigrant families. This experience serving immigrant families builds skills and systems that many school districts can transfer when working with more recent groups of migrants.  

 To ensure that rural communities in the state can effectively support the growing population of immigrants, Indiana must take certain steps. First, Indiana should increase funding to English-language education programs in rural school districts. Additional support would allow for further professional development opportunities, as well as allow school districts to hire more ELL teachers, if necessary. It also broadens school districts’ programming options, such as offering limited summer or after-school programs to help children strengthen and retain their English skills and possibly expand ELL education to adults. Second, similar steps should be taken across different sectors. Quality translation services are essential in environments like hospitals and doctor’s offices. While many Indiana hospitals have Spanish translation services, it would be beneficial if hospitals in areas with large populations of migrants from Haiti or Afghanistan had translation services for these groups as well. Other environments that would benefit from expanded translation services would be courtrooms, police stations, and government offices. Third, steps should be taken beyond language skills to help migrants adapt to life in Indiana, both socially and economically.