Some universities in the United States are warning international students to return to campus before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January, reports Johanna Alonso of Inside Higher Ed.
Just a week into his first term, Trump signed an executive order banning travelers from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the U.S. Many students and faculty who were outside the country at the time had difficulty returning.
"A lot of students have concerns about their visas and whether they'll be allowed to continue their education," University of Colorado, Denver, professor Chloe East told Brandon Drenon of BBC News.
Noncitizens in the country on H-1B visas also are unsettled about the Trump team’s immigration plans, reports Sakshi Venkatraman of NBC News.
Trump’s cabinet picks have expressed past disinclination toward the H-1B program, which covers specialized occupations, including any field within that requires workers to have a bachelor's degree or higher. Vivek Ramaswamy said he would "gut" the program if he had the opportunity.
Companies should be prepared to spend more time and resources, reports Robert Freedman of Legal Dive.
The first Trump administration did not distinguish between workers at different skill levels, immigration law specialist Grant Sovern said: "The administration tried to limit all types of immigration."
Welcome to Tuesday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Dan Gordon, the Forum’s Strategic Communications VP, and the great Forum Daily team also includes Jillian Clark, Soledad Gassó Parker, Camilla Luong, Clara Villatoro and Becka Wall. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected].
HEALTH CARE — Elected leaders should consider "leveraging the skilled noncitizen workforce trained in U.S. institutions" to meet health care needs, writes Tom Price, an orthopedic surgeon and former Trump administration secretary of Health and Human Services, in a Stat op-ed. As the nation’s average age increases, a worsening shortage of health care workers is imperiling elder care, he writes. "International health care professionals have proven time and again to be a meaningful spark for the U.S. health care system," Price writes.
RENEWALS — A Tulsa law firm is helping maximize Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients' protections, reports Rian Stockett of KTUL. The first Trump administration attempted to end DACA, and community members worry that another attempt is coming. Lawfirm Rivas & Associates hosted a free renewal clinic so recipients could restart the two-year clock on protections and work permit validity. Recipients are "part of our workforce, they're part of our community, they're helping out in schools, hospitals," said Lorena Rivas, the firm’s founder and CEO.
DEMOGRAPHICS — Trump’s immigration policy plans could increase inflation and worsen U.S. demographic challenges, reports Jennifer Sor of Business Insider. "The U.S. workforce right now is aging more rapidly than at any point in our country's history," said Alan Berube, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. " ... [I]f we cut off the supply of immigrant labor, the challenges that go along with an aging population and an aging workforce are going to get much more serious." The Forum has addressed these challenges too.
OWL — A foundational skill in caregiving can help Americans work through our differences, Jamie Alm writes in a Seattle Times op-ed. Alm is a speech-language therapy professional and was at our convening in the other Washington this month as a member of We Choose Welcome. She writes that we must learn to "Observe, Wait, Listen" (OWL). "To find solutions, we must listen well," Alm writes. "As I teach caregivers, ‘It takes two to talk.’ "
