Senior Living Feels the Pinch: Operators Turn to Local Talent as Immigration Crackdown Deepens Staffing Crisis

The senior living industry once looked to immigration as the long-term answer to its growing workforce needs. But as of 2025, that hope is fading fast—and providers are scrambling to adapt.

Under President Donald Trump’s renewed hardline immigration policies, the U.S. has tightened its borders even further. Mass deportations, raids on job sites, and the creation of a new “Office of Remigration” have signaled the administration's intent loud and clear: fewer new immigrants, more removals.

For senior living operators, this shift has closed the door on what many considered a vital staffing pipeline.

“I don’t see a strong appetite at this point for broad-based immigration reform,” said James Balda, President of Argentum, to Senior Housing News.

The Human Factor Behind Senior Care Work

The challenges of senior living staffing go beyond numbers. According to Jeanne Delgado of the American Seniors Housing Association (ASHA), it takes a special kind of person to thrive in this field.

“It’s someone who can form real, meaningful relationships with residents, someone full of compassion and empathy,” she said.

Old Tools, New Urgency: Internships and Older Workers

Faced with a worker shortage and few immigration lifelines, providers are returning to tried-and-true methods—internships and tapping into the 50+ workforce.

Take Goodwin Living, for instance. The Virginia-based nonprofit runs a robust internship program. Of the 50 interns it trained last year, 15 are now working with the organization full- or part-time. President and CEO Rob Liebreich believes programs like this help build a sustainable staff pipeline.

Likewise, Distinctive Living in New Jersey is bringing retired or semi-retired individuals back into the fold for light roles during peak hours. As CEO Joe Jedlowski put it:

“You don’t need to be a CNA to make a bed.”

These strategies aren’t just stopgaps. Jedlowski and his team are actively working with schools and colleges to build out career pathways, while Goodwin supports older workers with up to $5,250 a year in education funding. Currently, 80 to 100 employees take advantage of that benefit.

An Immigration Crisis with Real-Time Fallout

Despite all the creativity and resilience, immigration remains central to long-term workforce stability. Industry groups including LeadingAge, AHCA/NCAL, ASHA, and Argentum are sounding the alarm.

LeadingAge, in particular, has condemned recent moves by Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and warned of widespread consequences. On May 30, it responded sharply to a Supreme Court ruling that would allow the Trump administration to revoke temporary legal status for over 500,000 migrants from Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.

“The stakes could not be higher,” said LeadingAge President Katie Smith Sloan. “This is no longer a future problem. It’s happening now.”

Foreign-born workers—often parolees or Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders—make up a large portion of the care workforce. Losing them could be catastrophic, Sloan warns:

“The sudden loss of these individuals risks unsettling care routines, diminishing quality of care, and causing distress among residents.”

Faces Behind the Crisis

This is personal for providers like Toby & Leon Cooperman Sinai Residences in Boca Raton, Florida. CEO Rachel Blumberg says 8% of her workforce is under TPS—and at risk.

“They’ve shared with me, often tearfully, what awaits them next.”

She emphasized this is not just a senior living problem:

“These are the people stocking grocery shelves, pumping gas, cleaning hotels. They hold the invisible jobs that keep our economy running.”

Policy Band-Aids in Progress

Industry groups are trying to push back. ASHA is working with Congressman Lloyd Smucker on creating an “essential worker visa” for caregivers without college degrees.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration recently announced a goal of adding 1 million apprenticeships annually—a move that could indirectly help care providers if followed through. Delgado of ASHA sees potential:

“If the program is real and the resources are there, that’s a positive sign.”

And Argentum has already trained about 6,700 individuals through apprenticeship programs originally launched under Trump’s first term.

Still, Not Nearly Enough

Operators know that no internal effort—no matter how innovative—can fully replace what immigration once offered. Liebreich of Goodwin Living puts it plainly:

“America does not have the replacement population we need to care for our country’s aging population today—or for the coming two decades.”

To drive home their commitment to long-term staff retention, Goodwin even offers $50,000 move-in incentives to staff with 20 years of service. For those hitting 40 years? A whopping $100,000.

“We care about you on day one, and we care about you in year 40,” Liebreich said.

What’s Next?

The senior living industry faces a storm: aging boomers, a shrinking native workforce, and disappearing immigrant labor. Internships and older workers help, but they can’t do it all. Unless policy shifts soon, the “workforce crisis” is not just looming—it’s already here.