Florida Nursing Homes Seek Exemptions for Haitian TPS Workers

Florida's largest nursing home association has asked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to allow Haitians with temporary protected status (TPS) to continue working in long-term care and to pursue "available lawful immigration pathways," according to the Florida Phoenix and reporting carried by Orlando Weekly and Creative Loafing Tampa. In a July 7 letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Florida Health Care Association Chief Executive Officer J. Emmett Reed wrote that if roughly one in five Haitian TPS holders works in healthcare, "as many as 35,000 healthcare workers in Florida could be affected by recent policy changes." Reed warned that losing even a small percentage of experienced caregivers "would be detrimental to residents' continuity of care." The FHCA represents more than 650 facilities. Approximately 350,000 Haitian nationals nationwide hold TPS, with about half estimated to live in Florida. Haiti's TPS designation began in 2010 after an earthquake that killed more than 500,000 people. Former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem determined Haiti no longer met TPS conditions; a federal court initially stayed that decision, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that Haitian and Syrian immigrants are not entitled to postponement of TPS termination during litigation, stripping deportation protections and work permits. The Florida Hospital Association and Jackson Health System, which employs 50 Haitian TPS holders, have not intervened.