Connecticut Officials Document TPS Revocation’s Healthcare Workforce Risk
Connecticut state officials warned this week that revoking Temporary Protected Status for Haitian immigrants will worsen an already strained healthcare workforce. Elected officials, immigrant advocates, and nursing home staff gathered July 28, 2026, at the Westside Care Center in Manchester to draw attention to the policy’s direct effects on care facilities.
Connecticut Comptroller Sean Scanlon framed the issue in economic terms.
“I and other people who do work across the country are really worried about the impact that this has on our labor force, and about the impact that this will have on our labor market at a time when we are stretched for people to work in jobs like in the facility behind us.”
Sean Scanlon, Connecticut State Comptroller, July 28, 2026
Scanlon’s concern reflects a documented national trend. Long-term care facilities, including nursing homes, have struggled with staffing shortfalls for years, and immigrant workers have filled a disproportionate share of direct-care roles. Connecticut’s healthcare sector depends on TPS holders for positions that are chronically difficult to fill.
TPS Revocation Threatens a Workforce With No Easy Replacement
Temporary Protected Status allows people fleeing instability in designated countries, including Haiti, to live and work legally in the United States. When TPS is revoked, those workers face deportation or are forced to stop working, regardless of their ties to their communities or employers. Connecticut nursing homes like Westside Care Center have built staffing models around TPS holders who have worked in the state for years.
There is no fast replacement pipeline for direct-care workers. Training certified nursing assistants and home health aides takes months. Facilities operating near minimum staffing ratios cannot absorb sudden workforce losses without cutting resident services or closing beds.
The healthcare staffing shortage is not a future risk in Connecticut. It is an existing condition that TPS revocation will accelerate.
What you can do now
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Call Connecticut’s U.S. senators at (202) 224-3121 and tell them to co-sponsor the American Dream and Promise Act, which would create a path to permanent status for TPS holders. Ask specifically for Senator Chris Murphy and Senator Richard Blumenthal’s offices.
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Contact your U.S. House representative at (202) 225-3121 and ask them to oppose any federal budget or appropriations measure that accelerates TPS terminations without a congressional review period. Reference the Westside Care Center situation in Manchester as a concrete Connecticut example.
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Ask your state legislators to request a formal workforce impact study. Connecticut’s Office of Health Strategy tracks workforce data. Urge your state rep or state senator to request a report quantifying how many licensed healthcare workers in Connecticut hold TPS, so the state has documented numbers before terminations take effect. Find your state legislator at cga.ct.gov.
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If you work at or manage a healthcare facility, submit public comments to the Department of Homeland Security documenting workforce dependency on TPS workers. DHS is required to consider economic impact in TPS designation reviews.
Sources
CT Mirror: Loss of Haitian Workers Will Impact CT Healthcare, Officials Say
KFF: A Look at Nursing Facility Staffing Trends
National Immigration Law Center: Temporary Protected Status Explained