Behind the Headline: Friday March 30

MIREMS chooses a story from our daily advisory reports to share on our blog. These cross-cultural translation summaries are a first hand look at what ethnic and multilingual media are reporting on across the country.

As Trump targets immigrants, the elderly brace for losing caregivers - Haitian

Source: Haiti Sun a daily paper out of Port-au-Prince.

Translated Summary: The elderly are bracing for losing their immigrant caregivers as Temporary Protection Status (TPS) comes to an end. People living with disabilities, serious illness and the frailty of old age are bracing to lose caregivers due to changes in federal immigration policy. Many immigrants work in health care, often in gruelling, low-wage jobs as nursing assistants or home health aides. Now these workers’ days are numbered in Boston, the city with the nation’s third-highest Haitian population, the decision has prompted panic from TPS holders and pleas from health care agencies that rely on their labor. The fallout offers a glimpse into how changes in immigration policy are affecting older Americans in communities around the country, especially in large cities. Ending TPS for Haitians “will have a devastating impact on the ability of skilled nursing facilities to provide quality care to frail and disabled residents,” warned Tara Gregorio, president of the Massachusetts Senior Care Association, which represents 400 elder care facilities, in a letter published in The Boston Globe. Nursing facilities employ about 4,300 Haitians across the state, she said. Nationwide, 1 million immigrants work in direct care — as CNAs, personal care attendants or home health aides — according to the Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute, a New York-based organization that studies the workforce. Immigrants make up one in four workers.

Originally published March 26 2018