Some quick big picture thoughts before the purpose of this message.
After advocating for balance and grounded decision-making after the election, I have discovered that I was wrong. Organizations such as No Labels and shining stars such as John McCain and Lindsay Graham have worked to keep debate and action on a principled and sensible course. And they should continue to do so.
Nevertheless, the battle lines are primarily drawn, as we saw in last year’s election, between the college-educated and worldly versus the non-college educated and more traditional.
As with the tea parties, it is clear the progressives will stand their ground and fight vigorously for their principles. Unless the debate is based on fake news and lies, everyone should have it all out. It is as if with a dysfunctional family or a family with a lot of problems. Nothing gets worked out and righted unless all the ugly emotions, dirt, lies and facts are hurled out to be faced and argued. It is going to be a long two – four years. So have at it.
***
This story not only provides another important angle to the issue but assists in highlighting the myopia of many (nativist or not) Americans who have not, do not or refuse to see the international engagement and contributions that meet Americans’ basic and crucial needs and desires. (I am avoiding the terms foreign and global because their connotations turn off many of the Americans that should hear this message.)
- A study from Harvard and MIT researchers found 7,000 doctors practicing in the U.S. are from countries covered under President Trump’s travel ban. Many of these doctors work in rural and impoverished parts of Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia that strongly supported Trump’s White House bid. These 7,000 doctors provide an estimated 14M medical appointments per year.
- The ban could block thousands of immigrant medical professionals from staying in or entering the country, potentially affecting the health of millions of Americans, especially those in rural areas.
- American health care relies substantially on foreign-born labor, especially in rural and high-risk urban areas where hospitals and clinics struggle to fill jobs amid what medical associations describe as a catastrophic shortage of doctors. The shortfall is only projected to grow worse in coming years amid the aging of the Baby Boom generation.
- While most foreign-born doctors already in the country are unlikely to be directly affected by the order, medical groups are sounding the alarm about the danger that expiring work visas may be delayed or not renewed at all, forcing physicians to leave the country. And they also say the country’s next generation of doctors could be at risk, amid lingering questions about whether students from the affected countries will be allowed to study and work in the U.S.
JSR Blog 