Filipino Healthcare Workers in the US Face Increased Fear Amid ICE Enforcement
Immigrant Filipino healthcare workers in the US report growing fear and safety concerns due to increased ICE arrests and workplace checks, which limit their ability to work and move freely. Filipinos constitute about 4% of US registered nurses, a proportion larger than their share of the Filipino American population overall. Additionally, approximately 2% of undocumented immigrants in the US are from the Philippines, highlighting their vital role in filling healthcare labor gaps.
The case of Bella illustrates these challenges: arriving in Los Angeles in 2018 on a tourist visa, she worked in various shadow home-healthcare jobs, earning about $30 a day for 24-hour care, and remains undocumented. Cultural factors such as utang na loob, a Filipino obligation to repay kindness, contribute to workers staying with exploitative employers and families despite adverse conditions.
Increased ICE enforcement and detentions have intensified anxiety among healthcare workers, prompting some to reduce outside activity and limit care responsibilities. Veronica Velasquez, a physical therapist in Los Angeles protected by DACA, expresses that the hospital no longer feels safe because of the ICE presence in the workplace.
The long-standing presence of Filipino healthcare workers in the US dates back to mid-20th-century US-Philippines ties and established nursing migration networks. Federal data showing nearly 60,000 people in ICE detention highlight the considerable impact of enforcement efforts on the Filipino healthcare community.
