Trump’s targeting of Haitian immigrants takes toll on US healthcare system

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Like many Haitian healthcare workers in the United States (US), Rachelle has been forced into hiding by US President Donald Trump's anti-immigrant policies. So why hunt us down like animals?" the New York nurse in her 30s told AFP, speaking under a pseudonym for fear of the authorities. After years spent caring for sick Americans, Rachelle faces deportation, like hundreds of thousands of her compatriots -- which in turn is straining many American hospitals, nursing homes and healthcare facilities that rely on them.

At the end of July, the US government revoked her Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which allowed her to live and work temporarily in the United States due to dire conditions in Haiti. Rachelle's employer then fired her, and she has stayed home since, fearful of getting detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents if she went outside. "I wake up every day praying that they've changed their minds," she said of administration officials.

Established after the devastating 2010 earthquake, TPS status was benefiting more than 350,000 Haitians, a third of whom worked in the US healthcare sector when it was revoked, according to estimates. That's created "chaos" in a sector already struggling to find enough workers, and degrades patient care, said Nancy Hagans, a nurse who heads a New York City healthcare workers' union. Hagans said that in her facility, 21 workers were let go.

In a nearby nursing home, hundreds were fired, she said. "These workers were providing care to the most vulnerable," she said. In Florida, home to a large chunk of the Haitian diaspora, two home care agencies have been forced to close, said Denise Bellville, president of an association representing stakeholders in the sector.

While some caregivers continue to work undocumented in homes despite the risk of arrest, most employers have resigned themselves to layoffs, she explained. Replacing these workers is nearly impossible. The healthcare sector was already facing a staff shortage and relied heavily on immigrant labour to fill the lowest-paying positions, such as nursing assistants and personal care aides.

"Americans don't choose that type of job. It's not their focus," Bellville said. "They can make more money doing something else", like working in a fast-food restaurant or…