Twin Cities day cares lose workers after Trump administration cancels immigration program

The Trump Administration’s decision to cancel a humanitarian program that allowed people from certain countries to live and work in the U.S. temporarily is hitting Twin Cities day care and preschool programs focused on language immersion.

Operators of at least two day care businesses said they have lost staff with valuable language skills since the Department of Homeland Security terminated the Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela Parole Program (CHNV) in April. The Biden-era program allowed people from those countries to immigrate to the U.S. and work for two years because conditions in their home countries posed threats to their safety.

About a dozen employees at Tierra Encantada, a Spanish immersion early education program with nine Twin Cities metro locations, lost their work authorization, according to CEO Kristen Denzer.

“Many still had active work authorization, in some cases with months or even over a year left, yet were forced not only to leave their jobs, but to begin preparing to leave the country they’ve been building a life in,” Denzer said in a written response to questions.

The Trump administration said such parole programs are “inherently temporary” and should be used on a “narrowly tailored,” case-by-case basis. The Department of Homeland Security said in April that it ended the CHNV programs because they don’t serve a significant public benefit or reduce illegal immigration and are inconsistent with the administration’s goals.

The decision was challenged, but the Supreme Court allowed the administration to continue its pause while the court cases continue.

But child care providers say the effects are adding to a staffing crunch in an industry that often employs immigrants, many of whom are already anxious about the broader immigration crackdown under President Donald Trump.

“The majority of our workforce are all foreign born,” said Dawn Uribe, CEO and founder of Mis Amigos Spanish Immersion preschool, which has five Twin Cities locations and recently lost three employees who received notice that their work authorization had been terminated. “It’s a scary time for the Hispanic community, the Latino community in general.”

One of those employees came to the U.S. under the CHNV program and was notified that her work authorization ended in April. The employee had only been working for Mis Amigos for about six months and still had more than a year of work authorization.

“We had given her a promotion to do some extra things at school,” Uribe said. “She was a really great employee. The kids loved her, the parents loved her.”

The other two Mis Amigos employees had to leave quickly, after their work authorization expired and was not renewed. Both employees resigned to ensure they did not endanger their chances to stay or come back to the U.S. in the future.

Minneapolis immigration attorney Rachel Davis Scherf, who is advising and representing some early education and child care businesses, said the CHNV program has been “singled out,” causing uncertainty for businesses and families.

“Parents rely on you [businesses] to make sure their children are safe and protected, and there’s enough adults taking care of them and teachers educating them,” she said. “It’s very, very challenging when literally overnight, a significant portion of your staff no longer is able to show up to work legally.”

Child care providers in Minnesota have said the industry has been in a crisis in recent years due to a lack of workers and increased costs. According to the 2025 Minnesota Child Care Providers Survey, staffing remains a “major challenge.”

Five St. Paul day cares have closed in recent months, citing burnout and difficulty attracting staff to low paying jobs as concerns. The median hourly wage of a child care worker in Minnesota is $16.43.

Clare Sanford, the government relations chair for the Minnesota Child Care Association, said parents are unable to pay more and providers can’t afford to make less.

The immigration changes might increase the worker shortage. A recent National Women’s Law Center study found that about 20% of early educators in the U.S. are immigrant women.

Davis Scherf said there are very few options for immigrants who have had their work authorization terminated. Even if an employer sponsors a green card or work visa, that process can take two to three years minimum, she said.

Rose Mingo-Holtz, who owns Mes Amis French School in Hopkins, said her preschool business hasn’t been affected by the CHNV program’s termination. But the uncertainty around immigration policy has already prompted her to change hiring practices — Mes Amis no longer sponsors visas for potential employees.

“We don’t want to go through all the paperwork and be denied,” she said. “There are no words to describe how frustrating it is.”

Child care providers say the abrupt staff turnover is hard on the kids, too. Employers are limited in what they say to kids and their families about staff departures.

“To that child, it’s a person who they have come to rely on, that they trust,” Sanford said. “And all of a sudden, they’re just gone one day and they never come back.”

Uribe said the changes in staffing are something she tries to protect against to minimize children’s worries.

“We work so hard to keep our staffers as long as we do,” she said, “because the child’s development depends on having these loving relationships.”