Immigrant medical staff in a rural American hospital
Credit: Getty
Fueled by white nationalist arguments and a need to placate a racist base, Donald Trump and his team have repeatedly pushed for sharp new restrictions on legal immigration to this country.
Add America’s already-strained healthcare systems to the list of potential crises-in-waiting if Trump’s advisers get their way. Because immigrants make up a very significant portion of our healthcare workers.
The study finds more than one-fourth of direct care workers and 30.3 percent of nursing home housekeeping and maintenance workers are immigrants, underscoring their key role as the U.S. population ages. They make up 18.2 percent of the total health-care workforce at more than 3 million people.
What’s the plan to replace those workers? There isn’t one. It’ll just (waving hands) be fine, somehow. Luckily it’s not bloody likely Trump will get his way on harsh limits to legal immigration; when Republicans held the House and Senate both, they conspicuously ignored the White House’s most radical demands. But that doesn’t mean he won’t ramp up […]
It would be my guess that the percentage of immigrants and people other than white folk are much higher in the lower paid positions of med care. Certainly one of the most important is the honorable profession of janitor or cleaning person. Yet they along with LPNs and CNAs are the low paid foundation of health care particularly in long-term care and nursing homes. Without any one of these professions our medical system could not function no matter how high tech or well compensated the top tier all ride on the backs of many immigrants and other less educated native born.
My mother died about 15 years ago and spent the last 3+ years of life in a nursing home. Ever the racist she would have been a trump supporter without doubt. Hated Clinton and particularly Obama. Those who kindly and lovingly cared for my mother to the day of her death were mostly people of color. I felt they expressed only the most gentle and loving attitude towards her. I don’t think they were doing it for the money or to advance their careers.