I am a retired nurse who worked in Home Health nursing for 16 years in South Florida. I worked with many immigrants from Haiti and it is a tragedy to remove the TPS status. They are invaluable to our elderly. The work they do is labor intensive, they perform their care lovingly.
So true. My late husband's caregiver was a Haitian man, who, exactly like Maryse, happened to be in the US at the time of the 2010 Haitian earthquake, was granted TPS, and obtained a CNA credential. After many years of legally working in elder care, he is now an aide to disabled children in a local bi-lingual public school (he speaks four languages). He enables kids in wheelchairs and with feeding tubes to attend classes. And this week, he received a letter from DHS, dated January 28, 2026--so a couple days before Judge Reyes's ruling--ordering him to appear at a deportation hearing in San Antonio, Texas in a month. The letter states that his TPS has expired, refers to him as an "arriving alien," and references his Haitian nationality. He does not live or work in Texas. He is licensed as a CNA and an educational assistant, and employed in a different state. It is a frightening situation.
Thank you to the Bulwark for this excellent reporting.
Look for millions of WHITE middle class kids (of any age) who put their parents into facilities so they could go to work, raise their own kids, have a life, etc. (and I'm being kind right now) who will have to take Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, siblings, kids into their home and care for them 24-7 because there aren't enough other white people who will do the work. And look for cases of elder abuse, including deaths, to increase.
The uncomfortable truth is that being a caregiver to a loved one is HARD, HEARTBREAKING WORK! I know; I did it for years for 2 parents. Had to retire so I could do it as there is literally no help available for far too many of us.
Those caregivers/helpers in facilities or at home are a godsend in many ways.
Of course, the rich don't care, though who do they think they can hire at minimum wage if they're in that boat. And I absolutely despise those commercials that tout "A place for mom", etc. on TV. Those places they show cost literally $7,000/month or more. And even home care will cost several hundred $$$ per day. How many people can afford that?
It’s all so sad and pointless. As someone who had the extraordinary luck of not needing home care for either parent, my heart breaks for everyone in this situation.
Maryse, what a beautiful human being. Perhaps one day we will have the privilege of reading her full story and experience, penned by her, reminding us of what makes America great.
An informative, well researched article that blends facts with compassion. (But, can we PLEASE get rid of the vaguely dismissive "grandma" descriptor?? )
My mother's last years, as she struggled with Parkinson's Disease, were helped immeasurably by two wonderful caregivers from Jamaica who often slept in the house at night, along with just being kind and caring other humans. We were so grateful to them that we gave them my mother's car after she died, in order to help them in future work with others. They had become like family to me and to my brother.
Spot on. Add to that category a long list of jobs we depend on others to perform: landscaping, hotel housekeeping, slaughterhouses, fruit and vegetable picking and packing, kitchen help, janitors, and several sectors of the construction and remodeling industry.
It is not only Haitian refugees who are at risk from agent orange’s anti-immigrant purges. While the courts temporarily suspended his edict to re-determine eligibility for all refugees who have been admitted to the US in the past three years, who knows what some right-wing wacko judge might decide to do on appeal. This would not be just a review of the teams of paperwork on each refugee, collected over YEARS of vetting before they were eligible to come here. This would mean throwing them into one of Miller’s shithole for-profit detention centers while they take their sweet time “re-determining eligibility.”
I know one of these families. A mom with four children whose husband was murdered by a government militia in Ethiopia before they set her on fire. This family is Christian, the children have almost perfect school grades, mom works and also assists a handicapped elder to stay in her home.
I had a friend who spent her last year in an Alzheimer’s memory care unit. The entire staff was/is Ethiopian, and I have never seen such loving care.
The racism, cruelty and stupidity of this administration enrages me. I would be out protesting, but I am the handicapped elder who is receiving assistance to remain in my home and can’t physically join in.
This is true. My mother was in dementia care and the caregivers were almost all immigrants. They were very kind to her. English didn’t matter because they read body language.
My father was in assisted living and the caregivers were American-born and they were rough. They hated the job and they didn’t mind being mean to an unpleasant old man. I think immigrants would have charmed him instead of punishing him. He died of head injury from a fall in his room and I will always wonder if he was pushed.
If we lose our immigrant population, when I get old enough to need care, I may sell everything and spend my money in a country where old people are valued. Why spend $8,000/month (or more) here, just to enrich another corporation and to feel like garbage?
Every single member of the House should sign the petition, even if the caregivers in their communities are not Haitian immigrants, because every member has a parent, grandparent, or other relative who will someday need care. It is likely that the care they need will be provided by an immigrant, either at home or in a senior living facility.
My observation has been that MAGA nation and its leader lack empathy because that is one of the diagnostic criterion of malignant narcissism. They could care less about your grandmother or theirs because they are incapable of caring for others.
As someone whose now deceased parents and in-laws received tender care from immigrant caregivers, I can attest to the values and work ethic of Haitians and other immigrant care providers. As a Marine who served in Haiti, I can attest to the conditions there that make it an unsafe place to return to. As an American, I cannot understand why our government would rip these hard-working, tax-paying immigrants from their lives, homes, and critical jobs here in the U.S. to send them to the countries and deplorable conditions they escaped. Doing so hurts them, our elderly, and American businesses.
For the administration officials and members of Congress who argue that the word “temporary” in Temporary Protected Status is the main issue, change the name of the damn program!
Thank you for illuminating this issue and the dire consequences the current administration’s policies have created for these vital workers, their families, and the clients they care for. I don’t know a single family who hasn’t been touched by the need for skilled, competent caregiving for temporary rehabilitation and recovery or end of life declines. I’ve been watching for this topic to gain visibility, and it has been limited so far. I have also spoken about it with two acquaintances who built businesses on the home care or residential care model. I was surprised by their lack of awareness of a looming workforce crisis.
I am a retired nurse who worked in Home Health nursing for 16 years in South Florida. I worked with many immigrants from Haiti and it is a tragedy to remove the TPS status. They are invaluable to our elderly. The work they do is labor intensive, they perform their care lovingly.
So true. My late husband's caregiver was a Haitian man, who, exactly like Maryse, happened to be in the US at the time of the 2010 Haitian earthquake, was granted TPS, and obtained a CNA credential. After many years of legally working in elder care, he is now an aide to disabled children in a local bi-lingual public school (he speaks four languages). He enables kids in wheelchairs and with feeding tubes to attend classes. And this week, he received a letter from DHS, dated January 28, 2026--so a couple days before Judge Reyes's ruling--ordering him to appear at a deportation hearing in San Antonio, Texas in a month. The letter states that his TPS has expired, refers to him as an "arriving alien," and references his Haitian nationality. He does not live or work in Texas. He is licensed as a CNA and an educational assistant, and employed in a different state. It is a frightening situation.
Thank you to the Bulwark for this excellent reporting.
Look for millions of WHITE middle class kids (of any age) who put their parents into facilities so they could go to work, raise their own kids, have a life, etc. (and I'm being kind right now) who will have to take Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, siblings, kids into their home and care for them 24-7 because there aren't enough other white people who will do the work. And look for cases of elder abuse, including deaths, to increase.
The uncomfortable truth is that being a caregiver to a loved one is HARD, HEARTBREAKING WORK! I know; I did it for years for 2 parents. Had to retire so I could do it as there is literally no help available for far too many of us.
Those caregivers/helpers in facilities or at home are a godsend in many ways.
Of course, the rich don't care, though who do they think they can hire at minimum wage if they're in that boat. And I absolutely despise those commercials that tout "A place for mom", etc. on TV. Those places they show cost literally $7,000/month or more. And even home care will cost several hundred $$$ per day. How many people can afford that?
It’s all so sad and pointless. As someone who had the extraordinary luck of not needing home care for either parent, my heart breaks for everyone in this situation.
Maryse, what a beautiful human being. Perhaps one day we will have the privilege of reading her full story and experience, penned by her, reminding us of what makes America great.
An informative, well researched article that blends facts with compassion. (But, can we PLEASE get rid of the vaguely dismissive "grandma" descriptor?? )
My mother's last years, as she struggled with Parkinson's Disease, were helped immeasurably by two wonderful caregivers from Jamaica who often slept in the house at night, along with just being kind and caring other humans. We were so grateful to them that we gave them my mother's car after she died, in order to help them in future work with others. They had become like family to me and to my brother.
“Shit-hole countries” also known as some of the many countries that never outperformed the US until “Freedom Day” whose indexes now crush US returns:
https://www.etfreplay.com/charts?s=SPY,QQQ,FRDM,AFK,EWY&st=2025-02-05&ed=2026-02-06
Spot on. Add to that category a long list of jobs we depend on others to perform: landscaping, hotel housekeeping, slaughterhouses, fruit and vegetable picking and packing, kitchen help, janitors, and several sectors of the construction and remodeling industry.
It is not only Haitian refugees who are at risk from agent orange’s anti-immigrant purges. While the courts temporarily suspended his edict to re-determine eligibility for all refugees who have been admitted to the US in the past three years, who knows what some right-wing wacko judge might decide to do on appeal. This would not be just a review of the teams of paperwork on each refugee, collected over YEARS of vetting before they were eligible to come here. This would mean throwing them into one of Miller’s shithole for-profit detention centers while they take their sweet time “re-determining eligibility.”
I know one of these families. A mom with four children whose husband was murdered by a government militia in Ethiopia before they set her on fire. This family is Christian, the children have almost perfect school grades, mom works and also assists a handicapped elder to stay in her home.
I had a friend who spent her last year in an Alzheimer’s memory care unit. The entire staff was/is Ethiopian, and I have never seen such loving care.
The racism, cruelty and stupidity of this administration enrages me. I would be out protesting, but I am the handicapped elder who is receiving assistance to remain in my home and can’t physically join in.
This is true. My mother was in dementia care and the caregivers were almost all immigrants. They were very kind to her. English didn’t matter because they read body language.
My father was in assisted living and the caregivers were American-born and they were rough. They hated the job and they didn’t mind being mean to an unpleasant old man. I think immigrants would have charmed him instead of punishing him. He died of head injury from a fall in his room and I will always wonder if he was pushed.
If we lose our immigrant population, when I get old enough to need care, I may sell everything and spend my money in a country where old people are valued. Why spend $8,000/month (or more) here, just to enrich another corporation and to feel like garbage?
It's amazing how people still refuse to believe that the vast majority of Americans don't give a shit about anyone but themselves.
They will when THEY'RE the ones in those nursing homes, etc. And that will be nearly all of them.
I believe the relevant phrase is ‘cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face’.
The other one is ‘surpassingly stupid’, but of course both define Trump.
Every single member of the House should sign the petition, even if the caregivers in their communities are not Haitian immigrants, because every member has a parent, grandparent, or other relative who will someday need care. It is likely that the care they need will be provided by an immigrant, either at home or in a senior living facility.
My observation has been that MAGA nation and its leader lack empathy because that is one of the diagnostic criterion of malignant narcissism. They could care less about your grandmother or theirs because they are incapable of caring for others.
Until it affects them in some way, then it will be a problem.
Exactly. When they must pay more because there are no undocumented workers to exploit.
Worse. When THEY'RE the ones changing the diapers of an adult.
As someone whose now deceased parents and in-laws received tender care from immigrant caregivers, I can attest to the values and work ethic of Haitians and other immigrant care providers. As a Marine who served in Haiti, I can attest to the conditions there that make it an unsafe place to return to. As an American, I cannot understand why our government would rip these hard-working, tax-paying immigrants from their lives, homes, and critical jobs here in the U.S. to send them to the countries and deplorable conditions they escaped. Doing so hurts them, our elderly, and American businesses.
For the administration officials and members of Congress who argue that the word “temporary” in Temporary Protected Status is the main issue, change the name of the damn program!
The answer is in the color of their skin. If these were white Scandinavians the administration would not be treating them the same way.
Thank you for illuminating this issue and the dire consequences the current administration’s policies have created for these vital workers, their families, and the clients they care for. I don’t know a single family who hasn’t been touched by the need for skilled, competent caregiving for temporary rehabilitation and recovery or end of life declines. I’ve been watching for this topic to gain visibility, and it has been limited so far. I have also spoken about it with two acquaintances who built businesses on the home care or residential care model. I was surprised by their lack of awareness of a looming workforce crisis.