Constant policy shifts cause turmoil and uncertainty for Filipino workers facing new US immigration rules

Jay, a Filipino migrant living in the San Francisco Bay Area, provides care for an 82-year-old American veteran recovering from a stroke. While playing a game with his patient, Jay encountered a Facebook report regarding a US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy memo.

The memo indicated that migrants might be required to return to their home nations to apply for green cards—permits that allow permanent residence and work in the US, unlike temporary visas. Although the DHS seemed to retract the policy within a week, Jay’s immigration lawyer advised him to delay his application due to increasing instability. “Every day the policy is changing,” Jay noted.

Jay is among thousands of Filipinos performing essential caregiving roles in America whose stability has been undermined by the Trump administration's immigration enforcement. This crackdown has pushed some into vulnerable positions. Jay has previously experienced extreme working conditions; at a residential aged care home, he and a colleague, Lei, worked for months without days off, with Lei sleeping under stairs and Jay in a storage room.

Data from the American Immigration Council released in April shows that nearly 20% of US healthcare workers are immigrants, with the Philippines being the primary country of origin. This includes approximately 171,200 Filipino immigrant nurses, representing one in every 25 nurses in the country, though these figures exclude many unskilled caregivers.

Kai Marie, chair of Migrante USA, emphasizes that these workers are vital to the health industry. However, she warns that contradictory announcements from the administration regarding green card rules create insecurity and allow employers to exploit caregivers. Marie noted that some employers use the threat of immigration enforcement to suppress legitimate labor complaints.

The environment remains volatile, as even green card holders are facing detention. Migrante USA is currently campaigning for the release of Kuya Jeff, a 39-year-old Filipino green card holder in Alaska detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for prior non-deportable offenses. This follows a rise in ICE detentions linked to the mass deportation campaign initiated by the Trump administration. Marie also stated that the Philippine government has failed to actively defend the rights of its citizens in the US.