We wanted to make sure you didn’t miss this new blog post from FWD.us outlining the challenges that some immigrant health care professionals are facing due to outdated laws and a series of harsh immigration restrictions put in place by the Trump Administration. More than 29% of active physicians in the U.S. are immigrants, and our existing immigration laws and policies limit their ability to work where and how they are most needed when they come to the U.S.
From the piece:
“Rather than preventing essential frontline health care professionals from treating patients and saving American lives, the Trump Administration should immediately take steps to reduce restrictions on visa holders who are ready and willing to join the fight against COVID-19 in the U.S. right now. Congress has a critical role to play, too – it can strengthen America’s health care workforce by modernizing programs that allow foreign-born health care professionals to work temporarily in and then live permanently in the United States.”
The immediate next steps the Trump Administration can take to help fight COVID-19 and save American lives include:
- Waive deadlines and automatically renew status/work authorization for those with status expiring soon.
- Waive bureaucratic requirements, prioritize filings for health care professionals.
- Allow health care professionals on H-1B visas to temporarily work at different worksites or for different employers if supporting COVID-19 response.
- Pass the Healthcare Workforce Resiliency Act to expedite green card process for physicians and nurses.
- Extend and expand the Conrad-30 Program to retain U.S.-trained physicians.
- Drop Supreme Court appeal to end DACA and pass the American Dream and Promise Act to provide certainty to DACA and TPS recipients.
