When my father was diagnosed with terminal cancer a few years ago, our family turned to a renowned oncologist at the Cleveland Clinic. Her name is Dr. Wei Lin, an immigrant from China. Dr. Lin’s mastery of the medical issues involved, as well as her bedside manner, was a comfort to my father and our family.
When I think of the word “immigrant,” I think of Dr. Lin, and the millions of other immigrants that make America stronger.
Often lost in the heated debate on immigration policy in America is a discussion on how legal immigrants, particularly high-skilled legal immigrants, make outsized contributions to the United States.
While we are starting to hear more about high-skill immigrants’ role in driving the New Economy and creating jobs, helping to launch companies like Google, Yahoo!, Intel, Sun Microsystem, and many other large employers in America, we still don’t hear much talk about the critical role that foreign-born health care professionals play in caring for America’s sick.
As an immigration lawyer who represents foreign-born physicians, nurses, and medical researchers around the country, I am privileged to have a front-row seat to the talents and dedication that immigrants bring to the American health care system. This has driven me to be a passionate advocate for more welcoming immigration laws and a proud supporter and member of the Partnership for a New American Economy (
http://www.RenewOurEconomy.org), the bipartisan coalition of more than 350 business leaders and mayors making the case that immigration reform is an economic imperative.
And from a personal standpoint, I am married to Dr. Kimberly Chen, an internal medicine physician born in Taiwan. I see how hard she works caring for her patients. In fact, as a child, she was an undocumented immigrant. I’ve heard the stories of her family’s struggle to acquire U.S. Permanent Residency after falling out of legal status.
So, when I hear the anti-immigrant hysteria and vitriol spewing over the airwaves, aimed at undocumented and legal immigrants, I wonder whether America really understands the large role that immigrants play in delivering health care to this country?
Do Americans really appreciate the work that immigrants do as clinical physicians, medical researchers, and as biotechnology entrepreneurs who invent and commercialize medical devices and pharmaceuticals?
Despite legal immigrants comprising only 8% of the population, here are some of
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