Immigration Ban and the US Health Care Workforce - Takeaways - MDSpire

Immigration Ban and the US Health Care Workforce

  • By

  • Tarun Ramesh

  • Michael Liu

  • Hao Yu

  • May 30, 2026

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  • 1

    The US federal government enacted a complete immigration ban on 19 countries on December 2, 2025, affecting all immigration pathways.

  • 2

    Annual physician inflow from banned countries rose from 350 in 2010 to 459 in 2023, comprising 2.5% of total physician inflow.

  • 3

    In 2023, 2.15% of all US physicians and 1.41% of all US nurses were from the banned countries, totaling nearly 24,000 physicians and 56,000 nurses.

  • 4

    Counties with at least one physician from banned countries were more likely to be designated as primary care Health Professional Shortage Areas.

  • 5

    The study highlights that the immigration ban could exacerbate healthcare workforce shortages in underserved communities.

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