For a patient receiving care at home, a workforce shortage is not an abstract labor statistic. It can mean a missed visit, an unsafe transfer, a medication concern, or a family member forced to leave work because no caregiver is available.

A new report from immigration reform organization America’s Voice warns that intensified immigration enforcement could make those situations more common — and more costly — in Florida.

The report, titled End the ICE Tax, examines how immigration enforcement affects consumer prices, employment, housing, local businesses, and essential services. Its findings on home health care are particularly significant for Florida, where providers were confronting a severe caregiver shortage long before the latest immigration policy changes.

Florida’s Workforce is Especially Vulnerable

According to the report, immigrants account for 39.8% of the nation’s home health care workforce — more than 220,000 workers. The concentration is substantially higher in several states.

Based on 2021 workforce data cited in the report, immigrants make up 60% of Florida’s home health aides, the second-highest share in the country behind New York at 74%.

That figure does not mean every immigrant caregiver is undocumented or at risk of deportation. Immigrant home health workers include naturalized citizens, lawful permanent residents, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, and workers with other immigration statuses.

It does, however, demonstrate how deeply Florida’s ability to provide care at home depends on an immigrant workforce.

The report also found that home health care service prices increased 10.7% during the 12 months ending in June 2026, significantly exceeding the 2.6% increase in core consumer prices during the same period. America’s Voice argues that removing workers faster than employers can replace them contributes to higher costs and reduced access in labor-intensive services that cannot be moved elsewhere.

Home health care is perhaps the clearest example: the service must be delivered in person, in the patient’s home, by a trained and trusted caregiver.

A Shortage That Already Exists

Florida has little capacity to absorb another workforce disruption.

The 2026 America’s Health Rankings Senior Report ranks Florida last in the nation for the availability of home health and personal care aides. The state has just 17 workers per 1,000 adults age 65 and older, compared with a national rate of 65.

At the same time, demand continues to climb. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment of home health and personal care aides will grow 17% between 2024 and 2034 — more than five times the projected growth rate for all occupations.

The potential loss of immigrant caregivers would not create Florida’s home health workforce shortage. It would deepen a crisis that providers, patients, and families are already experiencing.

What the Workforce Loss Means for Patients and Families

The report estimates that more than 18,000 TPS recipients work in home health care nationally, including approximately 10,000 Haitians. The potential consequences for Florida were recently highlighted during an MS NOW interview with HCAF Senior Director of Policy, Advocacy & Communications Kyle Simon and HCAF member Amy Adaniel, owner and administrator of BrightStar Care of Delray Beach.

Protecting Access to Care

HCAF has urged Florida’s congressional delegation to act to protect patients and preserve the experienced caregivers on whom Florida’s home care system depends.

The new America’s Voice report reinforces the urgency of that message. Immigration policy and health care workforce policy cannot be considered in isolation — particularly in a state with one of the country’s oldest populations, the nation’s lowest rate of home health worker availability, and an extraordinary dependence on immigrant caregivers.

HCAF will continue advocating for policies that protect Florida’s home care workforce and ensure older adults, people with disabilities, and their families can obtain the care they need.

• Related: Amid Nationwide Immigration Crackdown, Report Shows Florida Workforce Among Most Vulnerable to Disruption (Florida Politics, 8/10/26)