Supreme Court decision threatens Haitian caregivers and elderly patients relying on them

The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision permitting the administration to terminate temporary protected status (TPS) for Haitians and Syrians is prompting care providers to prepare for the loss of dozens of immigrant home-health aides. The ruling, which affects roughly 350,000 Haitians, could be extended to a broader pool of more than a million TPS holders from 17 countries.

Care agencies and group homes across the country say they rely heavily on immigrant workers, with one-third of home-health aides being foreign-born. Facilities such as The Arc Rockland in Nanuet, New York, risk losing 19 caregivers with TPS, adding to staff shortages already caused by earlier immigration changes. "They have become like family," said Katy Sanchez, a resident of the group home, warning that forced departures would be "devastating."

Employers have begun terminating TPS holders after U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services confirmed the status’s expiration, despite ongoing legal challenges that may preserve work authorization pending court rulings. The Department of Homeland Security’s brief comment referenced a 1998 song lyric, underscoring the administration’s stance.

Individual stories illustrate the personal impact. Seventy-one-year-old Solange French of New York relies on Haitian aide Martha Nelson for daily tasks, from meals to bathing. "She’s with me all the time. Life would be impossible," French said. In Florida, 87-year-old Holocaust survivor Anna Fischbein lost a long-time aide when her organization terminated staff whose TPS lapsed, leaving her "not only a lady working for me, but a friend."

Facilities are scrambling to fill gaps, turning to nursing agencies and asking remaining staff to take overtime. Simone Smith, vice president of human resources at Cabrini of Westchester, noted that eight Haitian workers with TPS await clarification, describing the situation as "almost a hopelessness."

Legal experts caution that the decision may set a precedent for broader revocation of TPS, potentially affecting up to 1.3 million immigrants. Advocacy groups argue that many of those affected work in essential caregiving roles, and their removal could exacerbate staffing crises in an already strained sector.

For the caregivers themselves, the loss of TPS presents a stark choice between seeking undocumented work under constant fear of deportation or returning to Haiti, where economic hardship and violence remain high. "I’m afraid all the time," said a Haitian nursing-home worker who asked to remain anonymous.

The situation highlights the intertwined vulnerabilities of immigrant workers and the elderly or disabled individuals they serve, as both groups face uncertainty amid shifting immigration policy.