Efforts to solve the caregiver crisis through immigration reform received a boost earlier this week in a decision favoring immigrants with temporary protected status.
On Monday, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agreed to restore a path to permanent residency for TPS beneficiaries. Those undocumented immigrants will be able to reopen and dismiss their removal orders and pursue a path to permanent residency and citizenship in the U.S. The USCIS decision stems from a settlement that was awarded to seven TPS beneficiaries who sued the Trump administration for unlawfully denying their protected status to become permanent residents.
Andrea Price-Carter, director of workforce and technology policy for LeadingAge, told McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse in an email the decision is welcome news at a time when the long-term care workforce is facing significant staffing shortages.
“Many have been in the United States for several years and contribute to our economy, including as staff at LeadingAge members nationwide where they provide critical care and services to older adults,” Price-Carter said.
LeadingAge and other home care advocates have been pressing Congress to reform immigration policies as a way to bring more foreign-born caregivers into the United States. Last month, LeadingAge asked Congress to increase funds to address immigrant visa backlogs in its omnibus bill. The organization also asked for expedited renewal processing timelines on healthcare workers’ employment authorization.
In early February, the Home Care Association of America included immigration reform in a six-point policy agenda. HCAOA called immigrants “an important niche” that could help the nation fill an estimated 7.4 million direct care positions needed by the end of the decade.
