[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 89 (Tuesday, May 12, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2383-S2384]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        IMMIGRANT HEALTH HEROES

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, Americans owe a great debt of gratitude 
to the healthcare heroes on the frontlines of the fight against the 
COVID-19 pandemic. Today, I would like to spend a few minutes talking 
about one special group of healthcare workers: immigrants.
  Consider this: 1 in 6 healthcare and social service workers--3.1 
million out of 18.7 million--are immigrants. These immigrants are 
playing a critical role in the battle against the pandemic, yet our 
broken immigration system does not allow many of them to fulfill their 
dreams of becoming part of America's future.
  I have come to the floor today to tell a story of one of our 
immigrant health heroes, and I will continue to highlight these stories 
in the coming weeks. I am also inviting my colleagues from across the 
Nation to come tell their own stories on social media or on the floor 
with #ImmigrantHealthHeroes, shown on this chart.
  Thousands of immigrant health workers are suffering because of a 
serious problem in our immigration system: It is the green card 
backlog. This backlog puts them and their families at risk of losing 
their immigration status, and it hinders their ability to participate 
in the fight against COVID-19. Under our current laws, there are not 
nearly enough immigrant visas, also known as green cards, available 
each year. As a result, immigrants are struck in crippling backlogs not 
just for years but for decades.
  Close to 5 million future Americans are in line waiting for green 
cards. Hundreds of thousands of them are already working in the United 
States on temporary visas, while many more are waiting abroad, 
separated from their American families. Only 226,000 family green cards 
and 140,000 employment green cards are available each year. The 
backlogs are really hard on these families who are caught in this 
immigration limbo. For example, children in many of these families age 
out and face deportation as their parents are waiting in line for their 
green cards.
  The green card backlog includes thousands of doctors--medical 
doctors--who are currently working in our country on a temporary basis. 
These doctors face many restrictions due to their temporary status, 
such as not being able to volunteer at hospitals in COVID-19 hotspots 
where they are so desperately needed.
  The solution to the green card backlog is clear: Increase the number. 
In 2013, I joined a group of four Republicans and four Democrats who 
authored a bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill. The bill 
passed the Senate with a strong vote, 68-3, and it would have 
eliminated the green card backlog.
  Last year, I introduced the RELIEF Act, legislation based on the 2013 
comprehensive immigration reform bill that would clear the backlog for 
all immigrants waiting in line for green cards within 5 years. I will 
keep fighting to help all immigrants who are stuck in this backlog.
  Last week, I joined with my colleagues, Republican Senators David 
Perdue of Georgia, Todd Young of Indiana, and John Cornyn of Texas and 
Democratic Senators Chris Coons of Delaware and Pat Leahy of Vermont to 
introduce legislation to quickly address the plight of immigrant 
doctors and nurses who are stuck in this green card backlog. This 
backlog poses a significant risk to our ability to effectively respond 
to this pandemic. Our bill, the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act, is 
a temporary stopgap bill that will strengthen our healthcare workforce 
and improve healthcare access for Americans in the midst of this 
crisis.
  Our bill would recapture 25,000 unused immigrant visas for nurses and 
15,000 unused visas for doctors. These are visas that Congress 
previously authorized, but we never used. Our bill would quickly 
allocate these visas to doctors and nurses who can help us today in the 
fight against COVID-19.
  It is important to note that our bill requires employers to attest 
that any immigrant from overseas who receives these visas will not 
displace an American worker. We want to ensure that all beneficiaries 
of this bill complement our American healthcare workforce. As Congress 
begins to work on the next legislation to address this pandemic, I will 
push for the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act to be included.
  Today, I want to tell you the story of one immigrant healthcare 
worker who is stuck in this green card backlog and would benefit from 
the act I just described.
  This is Dr. Ram Sanjeev Alur. Dr. Alur was born in India. As a child, 
he survived a bout with meningitis, a disease that is often fatal. This 
experience inspired him to become a doctor. He went to medical school 
in India, then trained in internal medicine in the United Kingdom. Dr. 
Alur came to the United States in 2007 for medical residency training. 
In 2011, he began working as an internist and hospitalist in the Marion 
Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Marion, IL. Dr. Alur has led the 
emergency room inpatient unit for the last 3 years, and now, he is on 
the frontlines of the pandemic as a member of his hospital's COVID-19 
response team.
  Dr. Alur lives in Marion with his wife and three kids. Their ages are 
12, 8, and 6. He sent me a letter, but listen to what he said about his 
life in southern Illinois living in Marion:

       I consider the opportunity to work at the VA medical center 
     as a blessing. To serve the veterans is an honor, 
     responsibility and satisfaction that enhances anyone's life. 
     I found my calling and hope to spend the rest of my career 
     and raise my family here. I would like to see my children 
     blossom in this community and grow into successful, 
     responsible citizens.

  Unfortunately, Dr. Alur is one of thousands of doctors stuck in this 
green card backlog. He has been forced to renew his temporary visa four 
times

[[Page S2384]]

since he started working serving our veterans at the Marion VA 
facility. He has been approved for a green card but will have to wait 
decades--decades--because of the backlog of people just like him, 
waiting for their green cards.
  In the meantime, Dr. Alur's oldest daughter would age out--she is 12 
now--but she would age out and be forced to leave the country before he 
is legally entitled to become a citizen of this country. Think of that 
heartbreaking situation, breaking up this man's family because he has 
been approved for a visa but has to wait to make sure he meets the 
quota in each year, and he will end up waiting for decades.
  In the midst of this pandemic, Dr. Alur's immigration status puts him 
at a great risk. If, God forbid--God forbid--he contracts COVID-19 and 
becomes disabled or dies, his family would lose their immigration 
status and be forced to leave the United States. Tell me that is fair, 
that this man who is serving our veterans and has waited patiently to 
become a citizen of United States and be part of our future, should he 
get sick or die, his family would be deported.

  Here is what he said to me about this:

       The pandemic shook our family. Being a temporary worker on 
     a visa never stared us in the face more. This lack of 
     protection is every frontline immigrant doctor's nightmare.

  Dr. Alur's temporary immigration status also prevents him from 
working part-time in a COVID-19 hotspot like Chicago. Here is what he 
said:

       It is depressing to watch the medical system, stretched 
     while the pandemic takes its toll, and not be able to help or 
     participate. It is like a soldier sitting out a battle, 
     player sitting out a game, fireman sitting out a house fire.

  His family's plight led Dr. Alur to start Physicians for American 
Health Care Access, a nonprofit organization to advocate for doctors 
serving underserved communities who are stuck in this green card 
backlog.
  I can tell you, in southern Illinois, we are desperate for good 
doctors. We need them not just at Marion VA, but we need more 
specialists around the entire region. This is a rural area of our 
State, small-town area, and they need these specialists more than ever.
  How we can take a good man like this, who is willing to serve our 
veterans and do more in this COVID-19 epidemic, and tell him he is not 
welcome to be a citizen of this country, I just do not understand.
  When I heard Dr. Alur's story, it inspired me to work with my 
colleagues on a bipartisan basis to introduce this law that I 
mentioned, the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act. Under our bill, Dr. 
Alur and thousands like him could receive their green cards. They and 
their families would get the permanent immigration status that they 
deserve and be able to use their skills to serve in the frontlines of 
the pandemic if they are needed--and they are.
  I hope that, even in these divided times, we can come together in 
Congress to quickly aid these immigrant healthcare heroes.

                          ____________________