Justice in Aging opposes the Administration’s continued attacks on immigrant families, as demonstrated in the recent statements and policy actions of numerous Administration officials and agencies. These statements and actions – including the separation or indefinite detention of families – are inhumane, unethical and contrary to our country’s values.

As advocates for older adults, we support policies that welcome and help immigrants in our communities. Many immigrants are older adults. Data from the 2015 census show that 15% of the population 60 years old and older were born outside the United States. Furthermore, many older adults belong to multigenerational families with immigrant adults and immigrant children. Older adults in these families may both rely on other family members to care for them, and provide childcare so other family members can work. The Administration’s choice to misuse our nation’s immigration policies to attack immigrants and their families causes serious and irreparable harm and fails to serve anyone.

In addition, an increasing share of paid caregivers for older adults are immigrants, and many of the immigrant direct care work force are themselves over age 55. As the needs of our aging communities grow over the next ten years, we will increasingly rely on immigrants to provide even more care. Our communities also benefit from the contributions of younger immigrant workers, who pay into Social Security and Medicare for decades, thereby strengthening the financing of these programs for us all.

Instead of attacking immigrants who come here to escape dangerous conditions at home or simply to seek a better life, as millions have done since the founding of the United States, we need to recognize the important connections between immigration and the well-being of all older adults in our communities and advance policies that support immigrants and their families