Van Hollen, Joins Warren, Colleagues in Opening New Investigation into Trump Ripping Legal Status Away From Haitian Workers

Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen joined Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.), along with Representatives Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), and Deborah Ross (D-N.C.), and over 50 members of Congress in writing to LeadingAge, the National Domestic Workers Alliance, National Nurses United, MASS Senior Care Association, and The Arc of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Nurses Association, SEIU 509, and the Association of Developmental Disabilities Providers, asking them to share how the end of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for people from Haiti would affect the health care, elder care, and disability care workforce and patients.

"We are gravely concerned that the end of TPS for Haiti will threaten access to health care, elder care, and disability care for American families," the lawmakers wrote.

To date, about 1.5 million people on TPS have been stripped of legal immigrant status by the Trump administration. The termination of TPS for Haiti-scheduled for February 3, 2026-will affect over 300,000 Haitians residing legally in the United States.

Haitian immigrants are heavily represented in the U.S. health care workforce. In hospitals, nursing homes, and home-care settings around the country, many Haitians on TPS perform vital care-related services, including bathing, dressing, feeding, and transferring patients, which allows older adults and people with disabilities to live with dignity.

Experts have warned that TPS terminations will contribute to "serious disrupt[ions]" of "health care facilities, which already struggle to hire enough workers." Care facilities have already lost or are preparing to lose critical Haitian immigrant workers due to President Trump's immigration policy changes. For example: in 2025, an elder care facility in Florida had to fire dozens of Haitian employees who represented almost 10 percent of the staff; a Boston hospital that relies heavily on Haitian Certified Nursing Assistants is bracing for staffing shortages; and a senior housing and health care facility in Virginia was forced to lay off Haitian employees and then struggled to fill their roles.

The lawmakers continued, "This trend of de-legalizing legal immigrant workers will not make Americans safer. It will simply leave our communities with fewer options for quality, affordable care,"

The lawmakers asked the organizations to provide data and stories about the impact of the TPS termination on the health care workforce and patients by February 17, 2026.

In addition to Van Hollen, Warren, and Markey, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Cory Booker (N.J.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), and Representatives Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), Wesley Bell (D-Mo.), Shontel Brown (D-Ohio), André Carson (D-Ind.), Sean Casten (D-Ill.), Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), Danny Davis (D-Ill.), Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Dwight Evans (D-Pa.), Shomari Figures (D-Ala.), Jesús "Chuy" García (D-Ill.), Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas), Al Green (D-Texas), Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Jonathan L. Jackson (D-Ill.), Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), Bill Keating (D-Mass.), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), Summer Lee (D-Pa.), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), Sarah McBride (D-Dele.), Jennifer McClellan (D-Va.), Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Richard Neal (D-Mass.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), Darren Soto (D-Fla.), Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), Lori Trahan (D-Mass.), Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.), Juan Vargas (D-Calif.), and Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.)

The full text of the letter can be found here and below.

Dear Organization Leaders:

President Trump has systematically stripped legal immigrants of their legal status - including 1.5 million people on Temporary Protected Status (TPS) who have lived and worked in the United States for years, sometimes decades. This mass de-legalization has left various

segments of the American workforce, from health care to construction to hospitality, without the workers they depend on. Notably, the termination of TPS for Haiti - scheduled for February 3, 2026 - threatens to seriously disrupt the health care, senior care, and disability care workforce. We request your assistance with helping us understand the impact of TPS terminations for Haiti and other countries on the provision of health care, elder care, and disability care in the United States.

Immigrant communities across the board are a key part of the direct patient care workforce. While immigrants make up around 20 percent of the U.S. civilian labor force, they make up "[m]ore than a quarter of an estimated 4 million nursing assistants, home health aides,

personal care aides and other so-called direct care workers." The share of immigrant workers reaches almost one-third for home health aides and long-term care workers. In some states, that average share is higher: for example, in Massachusetts, immigrants make up 22 percent of the state's overall workforce but almost 40 percent of health aides, and in Florida, immigrants make up 27 percent of the workforce yet 48 percent of health aides and 64 percent of home health aides.

In particular, Haitian immigrants are heavily represented in the U.S. health care work force. In hospitals, nursing homes, and home-care settings around the country, many Haitians on TPS perform vital care-related services, including bathing, dressing, feeding, and transferring patients, which allows older adults and people with disabilities to live with dignity.

Despite Haitian TPS holders' critical contributions as care providers, on February 3, 2026, the Trump Administration plans to strip TPS status - which allows immigrants from countries undergoing dangerous conditions to lawfully reside in the United States - from over

300,000 Haitians currently on TPS in the United States. We are gravely concerned that the end of TPS for Haiti will threaten access to health care, elder care, and disability care for American families. Experts have warned that TPS terminations will contribute to "serious disrupt[ions]" of "health care facilities, which already struggle to hire enough workers." Care facilities have already lost or are preparing to lose critical Haitian immigrant workers due to President Trump's immigration policy changes. For example: in 2025, an elder care facility in Florida had to fire dozens of Haitian employees who represented almost 10 percent of the staff; a Boston hospital that relies heavily on Haitian Certified Nursing Assistants is bracing for staffing shortages; and a senior housing and health care facility in Virginia was forced to lay off Haitian employees and then struggled to fill their roles.

These changes risk harming the quality and availability of care for Americans. One medical director of five nursing homes noted that "hospices and home health care providers…rely on immigrants, sometimes for the majority of the workforce '[a]nd suddenly a large portion of that will just evaporate,'" with some facilities "bracing to lose up to 20% of their staff." Another provider noted that his home care locations "turn down clients all of the time because we don't have enough people," and that the de-legalization of immigrant workers "is making a very difficult problem worse."

At precisely a time when the United States needs more elder care providers for its aging population, and health care facilities report difficulties filling nursing, home care, and other provider vacancies, the Trump Administration is forcing legal, trained care providers out of the workforce. This trend of de-legalizing legal immigrant workers will not make Americans safer. It will simply leave our communities with fewer options for quality, affordable care.

We have asked the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Labor (DoL), and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) how they anticipate TPS terminations will impact the health care workforce. The Administration's response did not address our concern.

Given your organization's work with direct care providers, we ask that you share any data, stories, or other information you have related to the following questions by February 17, 2026:

1. Thus far, have you observed any impacts of TPS terminations, cancelations of parole, and other immigration policy changes since January 20, 2025 on the health care or elder care workforce?

2. What impact do you anticipate TPS terminations will have on the health care and elder care workforce over the coming months or years?

a. How, if at all, have you seen TPS terminations or uncertainty around immigration status affect patient/client access to care, continuity of services, or provider capacity within health care and elder care settings?

3. How do you anticipate the end of TPS for Haiti in particular would impact the health care and elder care workforce?

We appreciate your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely,