By Sydney Byerly
The Indiana Citizen
July 15, 2026
A coalition of progressive central Indiana advocacy groups are organizing a “Hoosier Hospitality March” in Fishers in response to an Aug. 1 “Mass Deportation Rally” featuring Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith and former U.S. Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino.
The “Mass Deportation Rally” is being organized by Save Heritage Indiana and is scheduled to feature Beckwith and Bovino, who previously served as U.S. Border Patrol Commander-at-Large and was the face of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts. He retired this spring in the wake of backlash over the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis by federal agents.
Save Heritage Indiana is describing the event as a response to concerns about illegal immigration and border security. Executive Director Daniel Poynter said the organization chose Fishers because it is centrally located and many of Save Heritage’s supporters live on the north side of Indianapolis.
In response, Fishers Resists and more than a dozen partner organizations are planning a “Hoosier Hospitality March” on the same day. Organizers say their event will begin at Holland Park before proceeding to the Fishers Municipal Center, where participants will hold a vigil for people affected by Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions and hear from speakers.
The competing events are unfolding in a city where immigration has become a visible part of the community’s demographics. Fishers, a city of about 105,000 residents, has an estimated foreign-born population of 11.5%, and 13.8% of residents age 5 and older speak a language other than English at home, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates from 2025.
Promotional materials for the Hoosier Hospitality March describe the event as standing “in solidarity with immigrants in Indiana” and supporting communities where “every person, every family, every community deserves to feel welcome, respected and included.”
Tom Groot, an organizer with Fishers Resists, said the idea for the march came after residents and advocacy groups began reaching out following the announcement that Beckwith and Bovino would headline the rally. Beckwith is appearing via a video message, an organizer said.
“We’ve just been getting a lot of interest from folks in the area, and actually folks from all over Indiana, who are interested in doing some kind of a counter-rally to that,” Groot said.
The Fishers Resist flyer boasts nearly a dozen other organizations in the Hamilton County and Indianapolis area are helping organize the event including: several Indivisible chapters, Indy Resistance, Somos Latinos, Voices 4 Democracy, Indy Action Coalition and Hamilton County Food Not Bombs.
Groot said organizers hope the march will show support for immigrant communities in Fishers and Indianapolis while pushing back against what they view as harmful rhetoric targeting immigrants.
“We’re open and accepting of people who come here,” he said. “We want to demonstrate some solidarity with them and to say that they are respected and they’re included in our communities. They’re an important part of our community.”
While organizers of the Hoosier Hospitality March say they hope to show solidarity with immigrant communities, Poynter said Save Heritage Indiana hopes attendees leave the rally “inspired,” better connected with one another and committed to helping “stop and reverse mass migration.”
Asked about the planned counter-march, Poynter said disagreements over immigration policy should be addressed through peaceful civic engagement rather than threats or violence against law enforcement or elected officials. He also argued that high levels of immigration weaken social cohesion, citing academic research he believes supports that view.
State Rep. Victoria Garcia Wilburn, D-Fishers, said the anti-immigration rally does not reflect the community she represents.
“Like many communities in Indiana, Fishers was built by people who came from all walks of life — different places, different backgrounds, different faiths,” Garcia Wilburn said in a statement. “What defined them wasn’t their differences, but their shared dreams of a community with good schools, safe streets and a fair shot for their kids.”
Garcia Wilburn said that vision continues to define Fishers today, and argued the anti-immigration rally “does not help foster that shared vision of a better future.”
“Instead, it seeks to stoke fear and division,” Garcia Wilburn said. “This does not represent the community I know or the actual day-to-day experience that most people have living here.”
The Indiana Citizen sought comment from Gov. Mike Braun’s office, Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness, as well as Republican state officials who represent Fishers, including House Speaker Todd Huston and Sen. Kyle Walker. Any responses received after publication will be added to this story.
The rally comes as Save Heritage Indiana, the organization behind the event, undergoes a leadership change.
Co-founder Nathan Roberts announced this week that he is stepping away from leading the organization, citing his full-time position as a field organizer for Turning Point Action.
“Truthfully, ever since I started working full time for Turning Point Action, I have not been able to dedicate enough time to it as I would like,” Roberts wrote in a post on X.
Roberts said Daniel Poynter will continue leading the organization, calling him “the best leader you can ask for,” while adding that he remains involved with Save Heritage Indiana’s work.
Poynter said Roberts’ departure from day-to-day leadership will not affect the organization’s operations or plans for the Aug. 1 rally.
Although Roberts is stepping away from day-to-day leadership, he remains publicly aligned with the organization. Roberts in the same post to X shared his endorsement statement for the organization in which he describes “mass migration” as “by far the biggest threat to Hoosiers way of life.”
Roberts also argued in the post that immigration is affecting Indiana through commercial driver’s license fraud, cartel activity and the growth of English as a Second Language programs in schools.
“The next generation of Hoosier politics will be decided on how we tackle this issue,” Roberts wrote. “That’s why I am proud to give my total endorsement to Save Heritage Indiana.”
The event with Bovino is not the first time Beckwith has lent his name to the anti-immigration group’s efforts. Save Heritage Indiana received an endorsement from Beckwith, who says the organization is “doing exactly what our state needs.”
In his endorsement, which the group posted on its website, Beckwith said that “we can’t take in the whole world,” arguing Indiana should prioritize “the people of this community, the ones who are here legally.”
He also praised the organization for “opening people’s eyes” to what he describes as a culture “being stolen right out from underneath our eyes.”
Other scheduled speakers include Brandon Harnish, a Wells County councilman, Save Heritage Indiana board member and founder of the Pat Buchanan Society, which is named after conservative commentator and former presidential candidate Pat Buchanan.
Anthony Rubin, founder of the investigative outlet Muckraker, which focuses on immigration, border security and cartel activity, is also scheduled to speak. Organizers identify Rubin as a member of the Mass Deportation Coalition, which describes itself as a network of immigration policy experts, former law enforcement officials and advocates that support expanded deportation efforts.
Poynter said the organization has received “tremendous amounts of support” for the rally, adding that many supporters have told him they previously felt uncomfortable expressing their views on immigration publicly and are grateful the event provides a space for people who share those views.
Sydney Byerly is a political reporter who grew up in New Albany, Indiana. Before joining The Citizen, Sydney reported news for TheStatehouseFile.com and most recently managed and edited The Corydon Democrat & Clarion News in southern Indiana. She earned her bachelor’s in journalism at Franklin College’s Pulliam School of Journalism (‘Sco Griz!).
The Indiana Citizen is a nonpartisan, nonprofit platform dedicated to increasing the number of informed and engaged Hoosier citizens. We are operated by the Indiana Citizen Education Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity. For questions about the story, contact Marilyn Odendahl at marilyn.odendahl@indianacitizen.org.
