Washington, D.C. — The Supreme Court heard oral arguments last week in a case that could force tens of thousands of immigrant caregivers out of nursing homes and long-term care facilities across the country — and the early signals from the bench weren’t encouraging for the industry.
At issue is the Temporary Protected Status program, a federal designation that allows immigrants from countries deemed too dangerous or unstable to return to — including Haiti and Syria — to live and work legally in the United States. The Trump administration has moved to terminate TPS for more than a million people, and the justices heard arguments on April 29 in two consolidated cases that will determine whether those terminations can stand.
The conservative majority appeared sympathetic to the administration’s position, according to reports from the courtroom. The government argued that the 1990 statute creating TPS bars courts from reviewing the executive branch’s decisions about which countries qualify — a reading that, if accepted, would effectively end judicial oversight of the program.
What’s at stake for nursing homes
More than 20,000 Haitian TPS holders work as nursing assistants or caregivers, according to the immigration advocacy group FWD.us. That’s not a rounding error — it’s a meaningful slice of the direct care workforce at a time when nursing homes are already struggling to fill shifts.
The stakes were visible outside the Capitol the morning before arguments, where a group of seniors gathered in the rain to make the case for their caregivers. Among them was Rita Siebenaler, 82, who lives in an independent living facility in northern Virginia. Her late husband spent his final days in an Alzheimer’s unit staffed by workers from Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Haiti.
“They gave him tender loving care,” she said.
That kind of testimony reflects a broader reality the industry has been tracking for months. As nursing homes have warned, losing TPS workers wouldn’t just create open positions — it would remove experienced caregivers who have built relationships with residents and know their routines, their preferences, their needs.
How TPS works — and why it matters
TPS isn’t a path to permanent residency. Holders must renew every 18 months, pass background checks, and meet strict eligibility criteria. Two misdemeanor convictions and they’re out. The program was designed for people who came legally and can’t safely return home — not as a backdoor to citizenship.
Every president since 1990, Republican and Democrat, has used the program. Trump is the first to try to dismantle it.
The cases before the court involve Haitians, whose TPS was originally granted after the 2010 earthquake that killed more than 300,000 people and left the country without a functioning government — conditions that haven’t meaningfully improved — and Syrians, a smaller group of about 7,000 people.
Twenty-one Republican attorneys general filed briefs supporting the administration’s position.
A decision expected this summer
The court is expected to rule before the end of its term in late June or early July. If the conservative majority sides with the administration, the path to deportation for hundreds of thousands of TPS holders — including those working in nursing homes — would open up quickly.
For operators already dealing with immigration-driven workforce losses, a ruling against TPS would be another hit to absorb in an already tight labor market. There’s no obvious replacement pipeline for workers who’ve spent years in direct care roles.
The industry is watching. The ruling, whenever it comes, won’t just be an immigration story.
