HEALTH AFFAIRS: Recent Immigration Policies Threaten The Sustainability Of The LTSS Workforce
Recent immigration, wage, and assistance policies pose a significant challenge to the sustainability of the long-term services and supports (LTSS) workforce, which relies heavily on immigrant workers to care for an expanding aging population. These policies—including reductions in healthcare coverage eligibility, stricter work requirements for public assistance, wage pressures from public program budget cuts, and tighter immigration enforcement and visa restrictions—worsen existing labor shortages and high turnover rates in direct care roles. As the pool of immigrant care workers shrinks and public support declines, the burden shifts toward unpaid family caregivers and costly institutional facilities, prompting several states to step in with localized initiatives to provide health coverage, food assistance, legal aid, and professional licensing pathways for immigrant workers.
