Nurses and community advocates staged a vigil at Maimonides Medical Centre in Brooklyn to protest the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian immigrants, warning of potential consequences for healthcare workers and patients.
The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), which organised the vigil, said the termination of TPS for Haitian immigrants was contributing to a climate of fear among healthcare workers and could worsen staffing shortages at healthcare facilities in New York City.
NYSNA President Nancy Hagans called for the federal government to reverse the termination and renew work authorisations.
‘Today, we’re back because our hospitals are once again facing staffing shortages-this time because the federal government has chosen to end Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of Haitian immigrants,’ Hagans said.
‘When healthcare workers live in fear of going to work, patient care suffers. This is more than an immigration issue; it’s an issue of public health,’ she added. NYSNA said nurses at the vigil highlighted the contributions of Haitian healthcare workers and expressed concern about the potential impact of the TPS termination on patients.
Staci Wright, a NYSNA Executive Committee member and an EP Lab nurse at Maimonides, said immigrant healthcare workers make significant contributions to the US healthcare system.
‘It’s time for the Trump administration to stand up for public health, and the selfless caregivers who deliver quality care, by reversing course on ending TPS for Haitian immigrants,’ Wright said.
Other NYSNA members also warned that losing immigrant healthcare workers could further strain an already stretched healthcare system.
‘American patients will suffer,’ said Alana Hunter, RN. ‘Without immigrant healthcare workers, including our Haitian colleagues, access to quality healthcare will become even more difficult across this country.’
Russell Pinsker, RN, said Haitian colleagues were ‘critical’ to the work carried out at Maimonides.
New York Attorney General Letitia James also expressed opposition to the TPS termination, describing Haitian TPS holders as community leaders, small business owners and an important part of New York’s healthcare system.
‘The way this administration has targeted them is a cruel injustice, and my office has fought back against it from the start,’ James said.
Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, chair of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, said the end of TPS would have a significant impact on Haitian communities in New York.
She also warned that removing Haitian nurses, certified nursing assistants and aides from the healthcare workforce could worsen staffing challenges at facilities such as Maimonides.
New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams said the termination of Haiti’s TPS designation endangered thousands of people in New York City and could affect both healthcare workers and patients.
Williams, the son of Grenadian immigrants, said immigrant New Yorkers could be discouraged from seeking medical care because of concerns about encounters with immigration authorities.
New York City Council Member Mercedes Narcisse, who is Haitian-born and a nurse, also criticised the decision as ‘cruel and…short-sighted’.
‘Stripping TPS from Haitian nationals not only upend their lives, it puts patients at risk by pulling skilled healthcare workers out of a system that is already stretched thin,’ Narcisse said. ‘Congress needs to act now to protect these essential workers.’
Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso described the termination as ‘a gut punch to hundreds of thousands of Haitian families who have built their lives here, and a direct threat to the healthcare system we all rely on’.
‘Haitian nurses, CNAs, and home health aides provide vital patient care across New York City. Stripping their status erodes our healthcare infrastructure and creates worse outcomes for everyone,’ he said.
NYSNA, which represents about 45,000 members in New York State, called for the restoration of TPS for Haitian immigrants, saying this would provide legal protection from deportation and allow affected healthcare workers to regain work authorisation.