Editor's note

Joe Slash is the most qualified person to speak about DEI and its history in Central Indiana. Hear his story and his take on today at the Who Gets What? podcast, available at 
We read or hear all the time about at-risk populations. These may be the elderly who are in danger of falling, either physically or for some scam. Or our children are at-risk for diseases because we denied them the protection of vaccines or monitoring of their Internet use.

Men are at-risk for a set of problems different from those which put women at-risk. Investors are at-risk of market declines and savers are at-risk of inflation. But we also have a vast number of Americans now at-risk of abuse, incarceration, or deportation because of their skin color.

Yes, under the practices revealed by the current administration in Washington, your only protection is being a Non-Hispanic White person.

Afro-American? American Indian? Asian-American? Hawaiian-American? Hispanic-American? Near-eastern-American? Any and all persons who do not conform to the stereo-typic Non-Hispanic White shade in the mind of a federal thug is at-risk.

According to my research in the Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey, 43.7% of Americans (148.7 million persons) are at-risk of detention by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents or their immoral gang members because of failure to be NH (Non-Hispanic) White.

As you might expect, Hawaii leads the nation with 79% of its people failing to be NH White. Nine states and the District of Columbia are majorities of their people At-Risk. Indiana is way down the list in 36th place with 26% At-Risk. However, we are just slightly more At-Risk than Minnesota (25% in 37th place). If we didn’t have a boot-licking Governor, would the storm troopers be on our streets?

Remember, no place is immune from these inhumane acts of terror. Maine has but 11% of its population At-Risk and they have already experienced an incursion by ICE.

California, with the nation’s largest At-Risk population (26.6 million persons) has two-thirds of its people with the wrong skin coloration. Indiana, with a much smaller total population, still has 1.8 million At-Risk residents.

Where are these hunted Hoosiers? Nearly 44% are in two counties, Marion and Lake. Both of these are at- or close to-half of their residents being persons of color. No other counties have even a third of their populations At-Risk.

Just five counties (Spencer, Allen, Elkhart, Tippecanoe and Cass) between 25% and 32% At-Risk. Of the remaining 85 Indiana counties, on average they have 10.5% At-Risk.

We don’t know the numeric criteria for an on-slaught from ICE. Their method of determining where to strike next is unknown to us. That is presuming they are using a reasoned path of action. It is equally possible, they just follow the erratic lead of a politically-motivated White House.
Morton J. Marcus is an economist formerly with the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. His column appears in Indiana newspapers, and his views can be followed his podcast.

© 2026 Morton J. Marcus

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