Long-term care providers urge HHS to protect immigrant caregivers

Long-term care providers across the U.S. are making a strong appeal to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), asking for immediate action to stop immigration-related policies that threaten to deport thousands of immigrant caregivers. These caregivers make up around 20% of the entire long-term care workforce and are essential to the daily operations of skilled nursing facilities, assisted living communities, and home health services.

LeadingAge, a major organization representing aging services providers, joined with individual nursing homes and senior living communities in this urgent request. CEO Katie Smith Sloan emphasized that many of these immigrant workers hold Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or are part of humanitarian parole programs, especially those from Venezuela and Haiti, yet now face job loss and deportation due to recent changes in immigration policy.

“Foreign-born caregivers are the backbone of long-term care facilities,” Sloan said. “If we lose these essential workers, the staffing crisis will only grow worse.”

Many providers are already feeling the pressure. In Florida, one continuing care retirement community warned that 8% of its workforce could be lost by August due to the end of TPS programs. In Virginia, nearly 40% of the staff at Goodwin Living are foreign-born, and 65 team members are at risk of deportation under current policies.

“These workers provide direct care, therapy, and hospice services,” said Rob Liebreich, CEO of Goodwin Living. “America simply doesn’t have enough local workers to fill these roles. Without immigration relief, older adults could face care shortages.”

What Long-Term Care Providers Are Requesting from Chevy HHS

Long-term care leaders have outlined four urgent actions for Chevy HHS and federal lawmakers:

• Allow TPS and humanitarian parole recipients to stay through their approved periods.

• Reverse termination of Venezuela’s 2023 and Haiti’s 2024 TPS designations.

• Extend legal protections to avoid workforce disruptions.

• Work with long-term care stakeholders to create permanent immigration pathways for caregivers.

These requests are backed by recent research. A study in JAMA found that more than 1 million immigrants work in U.S. healthcare, including 250,000 certified nursing assistants and 38,000 undocumented employees in nursing homes. Data shows immigrant caregivers stay in their jobs longer than U.S.-born workers, adding stability in a struggling industry.

The threat of deportation is already affecting staffing. One New England provider said they would have lost 28 caregivers in a single day if not for a recent court ruling. They now fear losing up to 20% of their staff soon.

“These are not just numbers. They are real people, our friends, coworkers, and caregivers,” the provider said. “Without them, our residents and our mission will suffer.”

Why It Matters

With long-term care staffing already in crisis, removing immigrant caregivers would cause serious problems for nursing homes and senior care facilities nationwide. Many fear it would become harder to discharge patients from hospitals, placing even more strain on the healthcare system.

Providers and advocates are calling on the HHS and Congress to step in now, before the situation becomes even worse.