President Trump’s “immigration crackdown” has elicited a warning from the direct care industry: immigrants are essential.
Although immigrants comprise 17% of the total American labor force, they make up 31% of the home care workforce and 21% of the residential care aide and nursing assistant workforce, according to a 2024 report from Leading Age, an organization representing nonprofit aging services providers.
A recent article by USA TODAY highlights the severity and scope of the direct care worker shortage, which is set to reach critical levels as the US faces even higher demand to care for aging Baby Boomers.
In 2020, 55.8 million people in the US were 65 and over, according to census data. A study in Health Services Research estimates that number will reach nearly 70 million by 2030.
From 2022 to 2037, a National Center for Health Workforce Analysis estimated the demand for home health aides will rise 35%, the demand for personal care aides will rise 38%, and the demand for nursing assistants will rise 41%.
Articles by Axios and AP News echo the essentiality of immigrant caregivers in US nursing homes, and warn of the effect President Trump’s immigration policies are already having on nursing home staffing in the US.
AP News reports:
“The aging of the massive Baby Boom generation is poised to fuel even more demand for caregivers, both in institutional settings and in individuals’ homes. BLS projects more growth among home health and personal care aides than any other job, with some 820,000 new positions added by 2032.”
Due to high demand and Department of State backlogs, immigrant nursing aides who qualify for a Green Card are currently waiting more than three years to enter the U.S. after their cases are approved.
Because of lengthy backlogs, staffing companies employing nursing assistants and nurse aides are best equipped to withstand immigration delays in their business models; however, meeting the demand for direct caregiving in the US in the coming years will require policies to extend temporary work authorization for direct care workers and policies to alleviate Department of State backlogs for permanent immigration solutions.
