Several home care and health providers in Massachusetts have begun losing staff due to recent changes in immigration enforcement, according to a new report from GBH News. One Alliance member was recently contacted by the Department of Homeland Security and asked to reverify the employment status of hundreds of home care aides. While not all were affected, a number of workers have already lost their jobs. Another agency was forced to lay off 12 home health aides immediately.

“These are people already trained and delivering care,” said Jake Krilovich, Executive Director of the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts, in the GBH report. “Given our workforce shortages at this time, any number of aides—whether it’s five or 10—has a significant impact on access to care.”

This issue is of urgent concern for the home care sector, which relies heavily on immigrant workers. Prior to the recent immigration shifts, nearly 46% of Massachusetts’ home health aide workforce was foreign-born. Advocates warn that job losses and uncertainty around Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and parole programs could destabilize care for thousands of older adults who rely on consistent, trained in-home support.

Speakers at a recent rally in Burlington, including clinicians and caregivers, stressed the need for policy solutions to maintain the essential home- and community-based care infrastructure.

See the full article on wgbh.org