U.S. Immigration Policy Threatens Shake-Up In Home Health Business

Zoila Gutierrez (left) is a student in the Encuentro home health aide class in Albequerque. Though her youngest daughter is a citizen and two older kids are registered under DACA, Gutierrez doesn’t have papers, and knows she may have to leave her job and return to Mexico.

Ina Jaffe/NPR

On a rare rainy night in Albuquerque, two dozen students are learning the proper way to care for older people. Teacher Liliana Reyes is reviewing the systems of the body — circulatory, respiratory and so on — to prepare them for an upcoming exam.

These students are seeking to join a workforce of about 3 million people who help older adults remain in their homes. They assist these clients with things like bathing, dressing, and taking medication on time.

About a quarter of these workers are immigrants. But as Congress and the White House consider changes to immigration policy, some people in the home care industry worry that there won’t be enough people to care for the nation’s growing number of elders.