She's cared for America's elderly for decades. Trump wants her gone by Sept. 8

Immigrants dress up a ample stock of workers caring for older adults and group pinch disabilities. Now immoderate who had ineligible authorization to unrecorded and activity successful nan U.S. are losing those protections. Jackie Lay/NPR hide caption

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Jackie Lay/NPR

LOS ANGELES — Aurora was moving arsenic a caregiver astatine a infirmary successful her location state of Honduras erstwhile she decided to time off for good. A mother of two, she yearned for a amended early for herself and her young daughters. So successful 1990, she went successful hunt of that, making nan travel done Mexico into nan United States.

She yet recovered activity successful Los Angeles, taking attraction of older adults successful their homes. She bathes, feeds and changes them and sometimes takes them places, for illustration nan beauty salon. She often stays pinch nan aforesaid clients for years, done bully wellness and bad and, successful immoderate cases, until death.

For a while, she did this activity without ineligible status. But then, successful precocious 1998, Hurricane Mitch devastated Honduras. Shortly thereafter, nan U.S. granted impermanent protected position (TPS) to Hondurans, citing nan biology disaster nan hurricane had wrought.

For nan first time, Aurora had authorities support to unrecorded and activity successful nan United States.

"I felt protected," she says successful Spanish. NPR agreed not to usage Aurora's past sanction because she now fears being targeted by migration authorities.

TPS for Hondurans was renewed aggregate times complete nan years. But this year, nan Trump management decided to terminate it, effective Sept. 8.

"Temporary Protected Status was designed to beryllium conscionable that—temporary," said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem successful a statement successful July. "It is clear that nan Government of Honduras has taken each of nan basal steps to flooded nan impacts of Hurricane Mitch, almost 27 years ago. Honduran citizens tin safely return home."

The determination is being challenged successful court. But connected Wednesday, a sheet of judges connected nan 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a little tribunal ruling, paving nan measurement for nan Trump management to terminate TPS for Hondurans while litigation continues.

With Sept. 8 quickly approaching, Aurora faces a early of uncertainty.

"We don't cognize what will happen," she says. "We don't cognize anything."

An extremity to migration programs designed to supply impermanent refuge

Since returning to office, President Trump has ended a number of programs granting immigrants refuge from unsafe conditions backmost home, citing nationalist information concerns.

"For decades, TPS has been abused arsenic a de facto amnesty programme to let unvetted aliens to stay successful nan U.S. indefinitely," Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin wrote successful a connection to NPR. "Too often, these programs person been exploited to let criminal aliens to travel to our state and terrorize American citizens."

McLaughlin's connection included photos of Hondurans pinch TPS who've been convicted of crimes successful nan U.S., including aggravated battle and a activity discourtesy against a child.

Aurora, who has spent astir of her big life successful Los Angeles, wants to convey a different connection astir nan astir 72,000 Hondurans granted TPS complete nan years, arsenic good arsenic those from different countries.

"Not each immigrants are criminals," she says. "We are hardworking group earning an honorable living."

Few opportunities to summation imperishable status

Like truthful galore different noncitizens successful nan U.S., Aurora wishes she could go a imperishable resident aliases moreover a citizen. Her union, Service Employees International Union Local 2015, representing astir half a cardinal semipermanent attraction workers successful California, has been pushing lawmakers to create a way to citizenship for group for illustration her.

"They springiness truthful much. I deliberation they're deserving of america being capable to find a strategy that useful for them," says SEIU Local 2015 President Arnulfo De La Cruz.

De La Cruz notes that caregivers represented by nan national service California's lowest-income older adults and group pinch disabilities — those who suffice for government-funded care.

The national does not way nan migration position of its members, but nan semipermanent attraction assemblage relies heavy connected immigrants. In a 2023 report, nan California Health Care Foundation estimated that adjacent to half of California's nonstop attraction workforce — those caring for older adults aliases abnormal group successful their homes aliases successful accommodation — are immigrants. With a quickly aging population, California could look a shortage of betwixt 600,000 and 3.2 cardinal attraction workers by 2030, nan study says.

Before nan termination of TPS for galore immigrants, "we were already successful a immense attraction shortage," says De La Cruz. "There's not capable caregivers to beryllium matched pinch group who request care."

De La Cruz has heard nan statement that immigrants should get successful statement and hold their turn. He says that it's not that simple.

"It's not an exertion that you capable retired and you get processed," he says, adding that nan fewer pathways that do exist, including done matrimony to a U.S. national aliases governmental asylum, are difficult fixed nan requirements.

De La Cruz is struck recalling that conscionable a fewer years ago, amid nan COVID-19 pandemic, attraction workers were recognized arsenic essential, moreover heralded arsenic heroes. The state could not do without them. And now, for astatine slightest immoderate of them, nan connection is: Go home. "To spell from that to this … I think, is creating an tremendous magnitude of stress," he says.

Roberto Oronia, a certified nursing assistant, says nan Trump administration's stepped-up migration enforcement has brought worry to nan attraction workforce, including to U.S. citizens for illustration himself. Roberto Oronia hide caption

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Roberto Oronia

Elevated worry for nan attraction workforce

Roberto Oronia is emotion that stress, moreover though he is simply a U.S. citizen, calved successful Los Angeles.

"This has infected everybody," he says. "I opportunity infected. It's not affected. It has infected nan psyche."

Oronia useful arsenic a certified nursing adjunct astatine a nursing location successful nan San Fernando Valley, alongside a batch of immigrants who, for illustration him, person family members, friends and co-workers who fearfulness getting caught up successful Trump's migration enforcement.

The sweeping migration raids successful Los Angeles this summertime stay caller connected everyone's mind. Reports that officers person been detaining group based connected their appearance and that ineligible U.S. residents person been among those arrested person stoked fearfulness that nary personification of colour is safe, Oronia says.

"What's it matter whether I'm calved here?" he says. "It's conscionable a matter of your tegument colour and your past name."

Oronia worries that nan worry he and different attraction workers are experiencing could person consequences for nan group nether their watch.

"When anxiety's elevated, group are nervous, group are stressed, their minds are connected different things," he says. "Accidents happen."

Aurora does not want to return to Honduras. Although astir 3 decades person passed since Hurricane Mitch, she says her location state is still dangerous, wracked by tremendous poverty, gangs and corruption.

She'd alternatively return her chances here.