The US is facing a critical shortage of nurses — skilled immigrants can be the cure

Immigration policy continues to be a fractious issue in our political discourse. While politicians fail to provide solutions, a full 58 percent of the American people believe that the levels of immigration should either be increased or remain the same.

That support shoots up to 78 percent when it comes to what most people call “high-skilled” immigration. Americans clearly are in favor of encouraging skilled workers to apply their vocations in the United States. Americans’ practicality and common sense prevails, especially when it comes to critical areas like the medical field.

Adding skilled labor creates a “multiplier effect,” wherein employers, faced with a comprehensive, well-trained workforce, can enhance their innovations, produce more and grow their businesses. This leads to increased productivity, higher rates of employment, and larger salaries for employees across the economy — benefitting both immigrant and U.S.-born workers. These gains are a terrific example of the benefits provided by economic opportunity through free enterprise.

This is especially pertinent now, as America grapples with a nationwide labor shortage. Across the economy, there are nearly 10 million jobs open, with not enough employees to fill them, particularly for positions that require highly technical education and robust expertise in a field.

No industry has borne the brunt of the labor shortage more than the medical field. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 20 percent of healthcare workers have left the medical field entirely. Widespread exhaustion and the trauma of working in pandemic-era hospital floors are catalyzing a tidal wave of resignations. As workforce numbers dwindle, those remaining in the field have felt more pressure than ever to perform in under-resourced conditions, spelling disaster for the next generation of caregivers. In 2022, more than one-third of nurses reported that they were “very likely” to leave their roles by the end of the year.

The management consulting firm McKinsey & Company estimates that by 2025, the U.S. will experience a shortage of up to 450,000 nurses. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the U.S. will require more than 203,000 new registered nurses every year through 2026 to bring the sector back to its full capacity. That means the United States would have to double the number of new graduates entering the nursing field every year for the next three years.

There is no “quick fix” to this potential catastrophe, and a lack of options. The medical field requires lengthy periods of intense training and experience.

But skilled immigration offers a viable solution.

Foreign-educated nurses fill critical gaps in care, while simultaneously bringing international knowledge to the hospitals and medical offices they serve. These health care professionals are highly trained and come to the U.S. in search of career advancement and new opportunities to expand their expertise.

Unfortunately, the State Department’s Visa Bulletin for May indicates a new 8-month delay for EB-3 visas, which covers healthcare professionals. This new retrogression in the visa process for skilled workers presents yet another impediment to addressing the country’s nursing and other labor shortages.

Policymakers should prioritize visas for workers like nurses and utilize unused visas from recent years. Thankfully, there is an avenue — in the last Congress, a bipartisan group of 70 representatives and 26 senators endorsed legislation to recapture unused visas previously authorized by Congress for healthcare workers to fill critical shortages.

Members of Congress would be wise to revisit this framework and pass bipartisan legislation that expedites the visa process for essential healthcare workers and meets the needs of patients across the country.

The medical field is a great example of how immigrants can address labor shortages and provide tangible benefits to the American economy. These essential workers and future Americans make lives better for American citizens. And that is an outcome that should be above controversy and transcend party lines.

Mario H. Lopez is president of the Hispanic Leadership Fund, a public policy advocacy organization that promotes liberty, opportunity and prosperity for all Americans. Follow him on Twitter @MarioHLopez.