The U.S. is facing two major threats to long-term care, and either could topple our precarious system. These developments should worry Congress and anyone who supports an aging loved one or a family member with disabilities.
The first threat is the ongoing immigration crackdown. Immigrants comprise 28% of the entire long-term care workforce along with one in three home care workers, providing vital frontline care to older adults and people with disabilities. Recent estimates suggest that 15% of immigrant workers at home care agencies are undocumented; however, even lawful permanent residents have been caught up in recent deportation efforts.
These workers fill critical gaps in a sector that has been plagued by worker shortages for decades, a situation that has grown more dire since the Covid-19 pandemic. Our research suggests that the threat of deportation will only worsen these shortages, hurting people who need care and their family members. Policies that separate immigrant caregivers from their communities threaten both vulnerable Americans and the frontline workers who sustain them. For the nation’s long-term care system, these policies represent an existential threat.
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