WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senior citizens gathered outside the U.S. Capitol on April 28, 2026, to advocate for Temporary Protected Status for immigrant caretakers. Among them was Rita Siebenaler, 82, who joined the demonstration to press lawmakers on immigration protections for caregivers.

The rally took place a day before the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on April 29, 2026, over whether the Trump administration improperly terminated TPS for more than 300,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians. TPS was first granted to Haitians in 2010 following an earthquake and to Syrians in 2012 due to armed conflict during civil war. The designation allows immigrants to stay and work in the U.S. when their home countries are deemed unsafe, but it does not provide a pathway to permanent residency or citizenship.

Siebenaler, the granddaughter of Irish immigrants, lives in an independent living facility in northern Virginia operated by the nonprofit Goodwin Living. Her late husband, a Russia specialist with the U.S. Army, spent his final days in the Alzheimer's unit next door, cared for by workers from Ghana, Sierra Leone and Haiti. She described the experience as thrilling and said it motivated her advocacy. "This has a tremendous impact on American seniors," she said. "Hundreds of thousands turn 65 every year. Who's going to care for them?"

The research and advocacy group PHI estimates the U.S. will need to fill close to 10 million caregiving jobs over the next decade. More than a quarter of home health aides, personal care aides and nursing assistants nationwide are immigrants. More than 20,000 Haitian TPS holders work as nursing assistants or caregivers. During her 16 years at Goodwin Living, 40% of the organization's staff have been immigrants.

Four Haitian dining workers at Goodwin Living lost their work authorization after the Trump administration canceled a humanitarian parole program last year, and three TPS holders from El Salvador also lost their authorization to work. The kitchen at Goodwin Living serves a thousand meals a day and lost two Haitian cooks and two kitchen utility workers as a result.

Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem cited improved conditions in several countries, including Haiti, when canceling TPS designations. In separate statements, the Trump administration argued that TPS is supposed to be temporary and not a de facto amnesty program. The State Department continued to warn about ongoing threats in some of the TPS-designated countries.

Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley led passage in the House of a bill to extend TPS protections for Haitians for three years, which passed by a vote of 224 to 204. The bill now moves to the Senate, where 60 votes are required for passage and Republicans hold 53 seats.