NYSNA Holds Maimonides Vigil to Protest Healthcare Shortages Caused By End of TPS for Haitian Immigrants
For Immediate Release: Wednesday, August 5, 2026
Contact: Joseph Celestin | press@nysna.org | 518-776-8337
Cara Noel | press@nysna.org | 718-678-9207
NYSNA HOLDS MAIMONIDES VIGIL TO PROTEST HEALTHCARE SHORTAGES CAUSED BY END OF TPS FOR HAITIAN IMMIGRANTS
New York, NY – New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) nurses held a vigil at Maimonides Medical Center protesting the Trump Administration’s termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 350,000 Haitian immigrants in the United States, leaving them vulnerable to increased enforcement activity and subject to deportation. NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, BSN, RN, CCRN, called the move an attack on healthcare that has already had a chilling effect on workers and begun to create massive shortages in healthcare facilities, disrupting care in and around New York City. Nurses and their allies also called for immediate federal action to reverse the termination and renew work authorizations.
“Six years ago, we stood here demanding the recognition and safe staffing healthcare workers deserved during a global pandemic. Today, we're back because our hospitals are once again facing staffing shortages—this time because the federal government has chosen to end Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of Haitian immigrants,” said Hagans. “When healthcare workers live in fear of going to work, patient care suffers. This is more than an immigration issue; it’s an issue of public health.”
During the event, nurses spoke about the contributions Haitian healthcare workers make to our healthcare system and the effects the termination of Haitian TPS will have on patients.
"This administration would have you believe immigrants do nothing but take from the system, but as a proud daughter of Guyanese immigrants, and a second-generation nurse, I know that's not true," said Staci Wright, RN, a NYSNA Executive Committee member and an EP Lab nurse at Maimonides. "My parents spent years working hard and contributing to society - just like so many of our Haitian brothers and sisters who are now squarely in harm's way because of a dangerous political decision. It’s time for the Trump Administration to stand up for public health, and the selfless caregivers who deliver quality care, by reversing course on ending TPS for Haitian immigrants."
Alana Hunter, RN, said “There should be no doubt about the consequences of this decision. American patients will suffer. Without immigrant healthcare workers, including our Haitian colleagues, access to quality healthcare will become even more difficult across this country.”
Russell Pinsker, RN, said "Every day I work alongside immigrants from all over the world, including my Haitian colleagues. It’s no stretch to say that they are critical to the work we do here at Maimonides, and without their hard work and dedication, it would be impossible to do our jobs and provide the safe, quality care that our patients deserve."
Elected officials and community advocates also spoke on the impact of the termination on New York City’s immigrant communities, patients and healthcare workers.
New York Attorney General Letitia James said, “Haitian TPS holders are community leaders, small business owners, and a foundational part of our health care system. They have built lives and grown families in New York. The way this administration has targeted them is a cruel injustice, and my office has fought back against it from the start. We will continue to work with our partners in government and community organizations to ensure TPS holders know their rights and get the legal assistance they need.”
"As the first Haitian-American elected to the State Legislature from New York City, representing the largest population of Haitian nationals in the heart of Little Haiti in Brooklyn, the official ending of Temporary Protected Status hits our communities at their core. This is a cruel betrayal of our values and an unconscionable attack on Black and brown immigrant families. Stripping TPS from hundreds of thousands of hardworking individuals is not just a humanitarian crisis, but a direct threat to the survival of our healthcare system. Ripping thousands of dedicated nurses, CNAs, and aides away from patient bedsides will completely paralyze vital institutions like Maimonides. Forcing TPS holders out will turn an already severe staffing crisis into a total catastrophe. Worse yet, empowering ICE to operate around safe havens like medical centers is a shameful, inhumane tactic that scares vulnerable patients away from seeking life-saving care. I am proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with NYSNA at this vigil. We will not stay quiet, and I will continue working in lockstep with our federal partners to pass Senator Schumer’s vital legislation to protect the dignity, safety, and rights of our immigrant families," said Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn.
“The termination of Haiti’s TPS designation endangers thousands across our city and directly threatens the essential services that are upheld by immigrant New Yorkers,” said NYC Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams. “Not only will healthcare workers stay home out of fear of an encounter with ICE, exacerbating burnout and understaffing across our hospitals, immigrant New Yorkers will be dissuaded from seeking the care they need. This decision is the latest from a federal administration that has made it their goal to make as many Black and brown people as possible eligible for deportation, directly threatening the health and safety of our TPS holders and the communities they help to serve. My office stands with and will continue to support immigrant New Yorkers of all statuses against the Trump administration’s racist attacks.”
“The termination of Haiti’s TPS designation is a gut punch to hundreds of thousands of Haitian families who have built their lives here, and a direct threat to the healthcare system we all rely on. Haitian nurses, CNAs, and home health aides provide vital patient care across New York City—stripping their status erodes our healthcare infrastructure and creates worse outcomes for everyone,” said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. “Our Haitian neighbors make this city stronger. They always have a place here. I’m calling on Congress to act now and extend TPS for Haiti.”
"This is personal for me. I'm Haitian, and I've spent my career as a nurse working alongside immigrants who keep our hospitals running every single day. Stripping TPS from Haitian nationals not only upend their lives, it puts patients at risk by pulling skilled healthcare workers out of a system that is already stretched thin. This decision is cruel and it is short-sighted. Congress needs to act now to protect these essential workers," said New York City Council Member Mercedes Narcisse.
“Ending TPS for Haiti is a racist and cruel attack on Haitian immigrants, their families, and the communities they call home. As someone whose own life has been sustained by the care of immigrant nurses during hospitalizations, I know firsthand how essential immigrant healthcare workers are to our healthcare system. Haitian nurses, aides, home health attendants, and countless other healthcare workers care for us every day, and they deserve to live and work without the threat of deportation hanging over them. This administration is not only tearing families apart—it is putting patients and our entire healthcare system at risk. We cannot stand by while Haitian TPS holders are stripped of their ability to work and forced to live in fear. Congress must act now to extend TPS for Haiti and stop this racist attack on our immigrant neighbors,” said New York City Council Member Shahana Hanif.
"The Supreme Court's decision to strip Temporary Protected Status from hundreds of thousands of Haitians is a devastating attack is a direct threat to our healthcare system and the patients who depend on it," said New York City Council Member Farah N. Louis. "Thousands of Haitian healthcare professionals have dedicated their lives to caring for New Yorkers, yet they now face the unimaginable prospect of deportation because of a cruel and discriminatory federal policy. I stand proudly with NYSNA in demanding that Congress act immediately to restore and extend TPS for Haiti, as our hospitals, our communities, and our economy cannot afford to lose these essential workers. No one should ever have to choose between seeking medical care and fearing an encounter with ICE."
“Trump’s cruel and racist attacks against Haitians and Syrians will have catastrophic impacts for New Yorkers: from immigrants facing life-threatening deportations, to communities losing essential workers,” said New York City Council Member Alexa Avilés. “I stand with NYSNA nurses and healthcare workers who are fighting to end this deadly policy.”
"Ending Temporary Protected Status is a threat to public health. As a physician, I see how fear and instability affect people's health long before it shows up in a chart, and as a union member, I know what it means to stand with people whose lives and labor are treated as disposable,” said Dr. Soheila Sanchez-Molina, Committee of Interns and Residents SEIU Regional Vice President. “Even beyond the fact that we depend on TPS holders for our care system to function, these are our community members. Taking away their protections will mean delayed care, worsening health, and deeper trauma for families who've built their lives here. And that affects all of us. This isn't just bad policy, it's wrong."
The Trump Administration has the power to immediately rectify this healthcare worker shortage by restoring TPS for Haitian immigrants, thereby reauthorizing work permits, and providing legal protection from deportation.
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The New York State Nurses Association represents approximately 45,000 members in New York State. We are New York’s largest union and professional association for registered nurses. NYSNA is an affiliate of National Nurses United, AFL-CIO, the country's largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses, with more than 225,000 members nationwide.