Up to 100 Haitian caregivers working across Connecticut could lose their jobs at skilled nursing facilities as early as Monday if their Temporary Protected Status expires, according to officials from the Connecticut Association of Health Care Facilities and the Connecticut Center for Assisted Living.
A federal appeals court this week temporarily extended the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s deadline from Friday to Monday while legal challenges continue.
In a letter sent to DHS, Matthew Barrett, the association’s president and CEO, said losing the workers would further strain an already exhausted workforce and worsen shortages as demand for long-term care continues to rise.
“The individuals affected by these changes are not simply employees — they are experienced caregivers who have become integral members of our care teams,” Barrett said in the letter shared with CT Insider. “They understand the complex needs of residents, provide consistency that is essential to quality care, and help facilities maintain stable staffing levels. Replacing these workers is neither immediate nor easy, particularly in a labor market where long-term care positions remain unfilled.”
Temporary Protected Status is a longstanding federal program that allows people from countries experiencing crises, like natural disasters or armed conflict, to live and work in the U.S. for a designated period.
Around 9,460 people with TPS live in Connecticut, according to a congressional report.
The designations have been continually renewed over the years, but former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced plans in 2025 to terminate TPS for Haiti, Syria and several other countries. Those efforts were quickly met with federal litigation, and district courts temporarily blocked the action. The Trump administration appealed the decisions, and the cases eventually reached the Supreme Court.
In a June 2026 ruling, the Supreme Court upheld the Trump administration’s authority to end TPS for Haitians and Syrians. This effectively reversed the lower courts’ injunctions and sent the cases back to lower courts for further proceedings.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced July 10 that employment authorization for Haitian TPS holders would remain valid through Friday, July 24, while implementation of the Supreme Court’s ruling proceeded. On Wednesday, a federal appeals court temporarily extended that deadline until Monday, July 27, while it considers additional legal issues. The extension applies only to Haitian TPS holders, not Syrians.
Federal Democratic lawmakers and advocates, including Connecticut U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, have pushed back on the TPS termination, noting that it could impose economic harm on communities nationwide.
“The end of Temporary Protected Status is devastating for the Haitian families who have built lives here in the U.S. — many working in skilled nursing facilities caring for our loved ones in need,” Blumenthal said in a statement. “As we confront a long-term caregiving crisis and a serious shortage of workers for these jobs, we cannot afford to lose people to an arbitrary and inhumane immigration policy. The Trump administration must reinstate TPS immediately, giving thousands of Haitian people lawfully in Connecticut a certain future.”
The association surveyed its 150 member nursing homes to gauge the potential impact if TPS expires for Haitian and Syrian workers. About 40 facilities responded, identifying roughly 80 affected employees. Because fewer than one-third of members responded, Barrett said the survey does not provide a precise count, but he estimated up to 100 workers statewide could ultimately be affected.
Barrett said the Haitian caregivers affected by the changes to TPS work in several roles, from nurse assistants and registered nurses to housekeeping and dietary positions. One Connecticut nursing home, for example, could lose 13 of its employees.
They have advised the nursing home to refer affected staff to immigration attorneys who can help them explore other immigration options and potential pathways to obtain a new work permit. How successful those efforts have been, he can’t say for sure. Obtaining a new work permit alone can take five months or longer.
The association survey didn’t identify any Syrian residents with TPS, but Barrett said there may be some who will see their protections terminated.
“In this environment of staffing shortages in long-term care settings, the loss of even a small percentage of these experienced caregivers would be detrimental to residents’ continuity of care as well as providers who are already struggling to fill essential positions,” Barrett wrote in the letter to DHS.
Barrett asks for an immediate extension on TPS and associated work permits for Haitian and other foreign nationals, noting that the association and other policymakers want to work with DHS “to identify practical immigration solutions in the nation’s immigration system and the stability of the long-term care workforce.”
A coalition of 50 lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. John Larson, on Friday introduced the Temporary Protected Status Review Act that would introduce a number of protections around TPS and reverse the Supreme Court’s decision.
“The administration’s decision to revoke TPS for 350,000 Haitians living in the United States will only further worsen the healthcare worker shortage our nation is currently facing,” Larson said in a statement. “The Senate must act to pass this bill before our Haitian neighbors are put in danger when their work permits expire.”
Associated Press reporting is included in this story.
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