SEIU launches campaign to protect immigrant healthcare workers

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has launched the ‘Healthcare Needs Us All’ campaign to protest immigration enforcement policies that threaten the legal status of approximately one million healthcare workers. During a rally at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, organizers highlighted that nearly 20 per cent of essential caregivers in US hospitals, nursing homes, and community-based care were born outside the United States.

Labor organizers are calling on Congress to restore legal status for immigrants with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and to establish clearer pathways to citizenship. The campaign warns that changes to immigration protections could exacerbate staffing challenges and impact patient care. Workers expressed concern that increased enforcement creates an environment of uncertainty, noting that some immigrant staff members have already faced deportation.