In Panorama City, a 60-year-old caregiver known as B. grapples with anxiety over potential deportation as she rides three buses each day to care for an 83-year-old woman with dementia in Sherman Oaks.
B., who requested her name be withheld, expressed that losing her job, which pays $19 an hour, would be devastating.
She sends remittances back to her family in the Philippines, and the thought of being uprooted from her job sends a wave of fear through her.
This fear is set against a backdrop of an impending demographic crisis in California, where the population aged 65 and older is expected to rise to 22% by 2040—an increase of 14% from 2020, according to projections.
Healthcare policy analyst David C. Grabowski from Harvard has remarked that as fewer individuals are willing to work in long-term care, the demand for caregivers has never been greater.
With these changes, the question arises: how will aging Americans afford care for physical and cognitive decline?
Particularly concerning are the proposed cuts to Medicaid by the Trump administration, which provides support for about two-thirds of nursing home residents.
Furthermore, there is a pressing question of who will provide care for those without family members to assist them.
While there are currently no viable solutions in sight, the prospect of deporting undocumented care providers raises alarms without any concrete plan to attract American workers to fill these essential roles.
Though the majority of caregivers in both national and Californian settings are citizens, the workforce has already been strained.
Employers have historically struggled to recruit and retain staff for these low-paying, demanding jobs, and now the fear of deportation, coupled with harsh federal policies, threatens to further shrink this already vulnerable workforce.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration ended temporary protected status programs and work authorizations.
The focus now is on a crackdown that aims to make 3,000 arrests daily, escalating fears among undocumented workers about their futures.
Aquillina Soriano Versoza, director of the Pilipino Workers Center, notes that many workers are not just worried about deportation but also about losing their jobs and the difficulty of securing new employment.
She observed that employers are increasingly asking for work authorization documents, which were often overlooked in the past.
Given the political climate, it is feared that some employers might feel empowered to exploit vulnerable workers, many of whom hail from Southeast Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Mexico, and Latin America.
The situation seems dire.
Yvonne Medrano, an employment rights lawyer with Bet Tzedek, revealed that many workers are hesitating to pursue legal recourse for wage theft, fearing that it might expose them to immigration authorities.
In one notable instance, a caregiver was warned that retrieving a final paycheck could come with serious consequences.
The hostile environment has led some workers to self-deport.
Reports indicate an uptick in this trend, with workers choosing to abandon their lives in the U.S. rather than risk exposure to deportation.
For caregivers, even before the current political landscape, conditions were already challenging.
Two years prior, during interviews with both documented and undocumented caregivers, several reported not having health insurance.
I spoke with a cancer survivor who was still caregiving while living in a converted garage without a kitchen.
Another caregiver, Josephine Biclar, in her early 70s, was already struggling with physical injuries but continued to work under precarious conditions.
Biclar now shares a cramped studio apartment with four other caregivers, highlighting the severe space crunch many workers face.
Despite their legal status, the escalating costs of living and the obligation to support families back home put them in financial jeopardy.
B., residing with another provider in a single room for $400 each, finds her lengthy commute—taking more than an hour each way—adds to her struggles.
Her work week is limited to three days, and finding additional employment is increasingly difficult due to her immigration status and the broader crackdown.
The last two months have been particularly tough; she hasn’t been able to send any money to her family in the Philippines due to financial constraints.
Retired UCLA scholar Fernando Torres-Gil, who once worked in President Clinton’s administration, forecasts that the disarray in the elder care sector is likely to persist through this presidential administration.
California will face mounting pressure to provide for caregivers and those in need of care amid budgetary limitations.
Torres-Gil believes this growing crisis could eventually trigger a reckoning.
“As more baby boomers need assistance, we may come to realize the necessity for focused leadership on these issues,” he said.
He urges that the political conversation shift from open borders to selective immigration that meets the needs of the economy and society.
Canada and various other countries face similar demographic shifts, creating an opportunity for skilled workers in the U.S. to seek opportunities abroad if deported.
Despite the pervasive cynicism surrounding this issue, there is a glimmer of hope that awareness will grow and propel change in policies supporting elder care.
As discussions around this issue continue to unfold, I am keen on connecting with individuals facing challenges in finding or affording care, as well as those providing such essential services.
Your voices are crucial as we navigate this pressing matter.
image source from：https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-05-31/if-people-taking-care-of-our-elders-get-deported-will-anyone-take-their-place
