foreign doctors visa freeze US is straining an already fragile healthcare system, especially in rural and underserved communities that rely heavily on immigrant physicians.
One Nigerian doctor performed knee and hip replacement surgeries at a New York teaching hospital. A Venezuelan physician treated people with diabetes and hypertension in rural Texas. A U.S.-trained ophthalmologist from Iran can no longer perform eye surgeries in Arkansas.
All three doctors have been forced to stop seeing patients after they were pushed out of their jobs because of a Trump administration policy that took effect in January and froze visa extensions, work permits and green cards for citizens of 39 countries as well as people with Palestinian Authority travel documents.
The fallout of the move, which stemmed from a December travel ban, is expected to be most pronounced in rural areas that have long had a number of doctors, and in communities with large populations of older Americans coping with chronic conditions. The disruption comes amid a broader immigration crackdown as the Trump administration has detained undocumented people, reduced refugee admissions and tightened visa scrutiny, among other measures.
“This was a big swipe at immigration without regard for particular categories of immigrants, like physicians, who are desperately needed,” said Andrew Wizner, a lawyer who represents medical institutions that hire foreign doctors.
In response to questions, the Homeland Security Department said in a statement that decisions on cases involving immigrants from “high-risk countries” had been placed on hold “to ensure they are vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.”
The U.S. currently faces a shortage of about 65,000 physicians, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. That deficit is expected to balloon over the next decade as Americans live longer and more doctors retire.
Foreign doctors currently comprise 25 percent of all doctors practicing in the country, and many have become citizens.
The Times reviewed a list of more than 100 doctors affected by the new policy, including doctors already on administrative leave and others who could be forced out when their work permits and visas expire. The list was created by the doctor’s themselves. Some agreed to be interviewed on the condition they not be identified, citing fear of retribution.
The affected doctors come from countries included in the ban, mostly from Africa and the Middle East, and are unable to work because they had immigration cases pending when the policy was announced.
Hundreds of foreign doctors affected by the pause have formed an informal professional network to exchange information. About 200 attended a recent online presentation by Curtis Morrison, a lawyer who has filed 13 lawsuits in federal court to compel the government to process the applications of particular individuals.
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