JULY 31, 2026
Immigration crackdown on Haitian TPS holders disrupts care workforce for elderly and disabled Americans
The Supreme Court ruled last month that the Trump administration could end Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a decision that directly affects roughly 350,000 Haitians. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services subsequently issued guidance confirming TPS had expired, though legal disputes remain over whether work authorization is still valid under existing lower-court injunctions. Care facilities and home health agencies across the country are now bracing for the loss of Haitian workers who make up a significant share of their caregiving staff.
The Supreme Court's ruling permitting the Trump administration to terminate TPS has set off a wave of uncertainty in the caregiving industry, where Haitian immigrants hold a substantial share of frontline positions. According to PHI, a nonprofit focused on the caregiving workforce, roughly one-third of all U.S. home health aides are immigrants, and facilities in states like New York and Florida report that Haitian TPS holders make up large portions of their staff.
The AP reported on specific facilities already feeling the impact: The Arc Rockland, a group home for disabled people in Nanuet, New York, has lost 20 workers to immigration changes over the past year and stands to lose 19 more who hold TPS. Jewish Community Services of South Florida terminated 18 Haitian home health aides when their TPS lapsed. Cabrini of Westchester, a nursing home in Dobbs Ferry, New York, where roughly 75% of the workforce is immigrant, has eight Haitian TPS holders awaiting word on their status.
For clients, the disruption extends beyond staffing logistics. The AP described the relationship between 91-year-old Solange French, of Queens, and her home health aide Martha Nelson — who came to the U.S. after the 2010 Haiti earthquake — as a daily partnership covering meals, medical appointments, household tasks, and companionship built over three years. An 87-year-old Holocaust survivor in Sunny Isles, Florida, described losing her aide of 10 years as losing both a worker and a friend.