Trump's Immigration Policy Sidelines Foreign Doctors Amid Shortage

Source: New York Times

April 4, 2026 Updated 10:49 a.m. ET


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 physicians 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 dearth 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 physicians retire.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/04/us/trumps-immigration-policy-sidelines-foreign-doctors-amid-shortage.html