The Supreme Court has ended protections for Haitian and Syrian citizens, clearing the way for the federal government to deport hundreds of thousands of workers. It’s a move that could shake the skilled nursing workforce.
Here is what to know.
1. On June 25, the Supreme Court paused rulings by federal courts in the District of Columbia and New York that barred the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protected Status for Haitian and Syrian refugees.
2. The ruling puts more than 330,000 Haitians and more than 6,000 Syrians at risk of deportation, Americans for Immigrant Justice said. It could also have far-reaching implications for the nearly 1.3 million in the U.S. on Temporary Protected Status, The New York Times reported.
3. The nursing home industry relies heavily on immigrant labor, which makes up about 28% of the long-term care workforce, KFF reported in 2025. The Migration Policy Institute estimated that in 2021, 103,000 Haitian immigrants were healthcare workers, including nursing assistants, personal care aides and home health aides.
4. The ruling means that 8% or more of the skilled nursing facility workforce could lose their jobs overnight, said LeadingAge, an association that represents 5,300 nonprofit and mission-driven aging services providers.
“There is no workforce waiting in the wings capable of replacing the long-standing relationships, in some cases built over years and even decades, that are so vital to quality care,” the association said in a June 25 news release.
5. Providers may have to limit nursing home admissions, close units or turn away home health and home care requests if vacant jobs are not filled, LeadingAge said.
6. Recently, the House of Representatives passed the Haiti TPS extension, and advocates are pushing the Senate to quickly pass the bill.
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