Senior care providers shaken by protected status ruling
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Nursing homes and other providers of senior care are predicting upheaval and cutbacks in the wake of last week's Supreme Court decision to terminate temporary protected status for Haitian and Syrian immigrants.
Why it matters: Individuals who in some communities represent 8% or more of the staff and caregiving workforce could quickly lose their jobs, with no replacements at the ready, provider groups say.
- The Haitian Temporary Protected Status workforce includes an estimated 13,000 nursing assistants and 8,000 caregivers, according to Americans for Immigrant Justice.
- Some of the highest concentrations of health workers are in South Florida, Massachusetts and New York.
State of play: Providers face the prospect of limiting nursing home admissions, closing units or turning away requests for home care until vacant jobs are filled, according to LeadingAge, which represents providers of aging services.
- Some providers and immigrant advocacy groups are urging the Senate to take up a House-passed Haiti TPS extension that would provide three years of protection and work authorization to more than 300,000 Haitian nationals.
- The Trump administration hailed the ruling, which affirmed its full discretion over TPS designations, as crucial to cutting off what it calls "a backdoor amnesty" for millions of unvetted migrants.
Context: The ruling came just as staffing levels at nursing and residential care facilities were returning to pre-pandemic levels.
- The long-term care sector has been buffeted by the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, with some facilities forced to close units for lack of staff.
- Nursing shortages across the entire health care sector are expected to continue well into the next decade.
