MCKNIGHT: Data detail extent of senior living and care provider reliance on immigrant workers
According to a June 2026 report by KFF, the long-term care sector relies heavily on immigrant workers, who made up 30% of the hands-on care workforce in 2024. This group includes both naturalized U.S. citizens (18%) and noncitizens (12%) working as nursing assistants, personal care aides, and home health aides, with many coming from countries like Mexico, the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, China, Jamaica, and Haiti. Because the senior living and care industry depends so much on these employees, industry advocacy groups warn that even small changes to federal immigration policies—such as a recent Supreme Court ruling allowing the government to end temporary protected status for immigrants from Haiti and Syria—can immediately cause severe staffing shortages for care providers across the country.
