Senior citizens rallied outside the U.S. Capitol on April 28, 2026, urging the Supreme Court to preserve Temporary Protected Status for immigrant caregivers. The court heard arguments the next day on the Trump administration's termination of TPS for over 300,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians. Advocates highlight the growing need for caregivers amid an aging population.
On a rainy morning, about two dozen seniors, including 82-year-old Rita Siebenaler, gathered outside the U.S. Capitol to support immigrant workers with Temporary Protected Status, or TPS. Siebenaler, a resident at Goodwin Living in northern Virginia, praised caregivers from Haiti, Ghana, and Sierra Leone who tended to her late husband. She emphasized the vital role these workers play, saying, 'As you age, in spite of your good habits, your bodies fail... Who's going to care for them?' flanked by others in raincoats and walkers. The research group PHI projects a need for nearly 10 million caregiving jobs over the next decade, with more than a quarter of home health aides already immigrants. FWD.us notes over 20,000 Haitian TPS holders work as nursing assistants or caregivers. Goodwin Living, where 40% of staff are immigrants, has lost workers due to policy changes: four Haitians from a canceled humanitarian parole program and three Salvadorans after TPS revocation. These departures disrupted kitchen operations serving 1,000 meals daily, Siebenaler said. The Supreme Court weighed whether the Trump administration, under former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, followed procedures in ending TPS—originally granted to Haitians post-2010 earthquake and Syrians amid 2012 civil war. Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley joined the rally after the House passed her bill 224-204 to extend Haitian TPS for three years; it now faces hurdles in the Senate.
