AJN/March 1998/vol.98, no. 3 |
| Washington Watch | Issues Update | Foundations of Practice | Vital Signs |
by Connie Helmlinger
The American Nurses Association calls the smuggling of foreign registered nurses into the United States a blatant fraud upon both American and foreign nurses, as well as a denigration to the profession as a whole.
"Registered nurses from foreign countries were illegally brought to the United States and taken advantage of by unscrupulous individuals," said ANA President Beverly L. Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN. "The foreign nurses were abused and given false promises of higher wages and good working conditions while American nurses missed out on job opportunities and millions of dollars of income."
According to the U.S. Attorney Paul E. Coggins, "Operation Windmill," a 33-month investigation by the South Plains Texas Visa Fraud Task Force, resulted in the breakup of a major smuggling ring that used fraud and deceit to obtain legitimate H-1A visas, a special nonimmigrant work visa category created as a response to a sustained shortage of registered nurses in 1989. The program was allowed to end in September 1995, a move the ANA supported due to downsizing of RNs within the health care industry, the increasing numbers of nurses entering the United States under the negotiated trade agreements, and the increasing supply of domestic RNs.
Using the H-1A program unlawfully, this smuggling ring brought more than 500 foreign nurses into the U.S. illegally. According to the U.S. Attorney's office, the RNs were working in 35 states across the country, earning substandard wages (which violates the Nursing Relief Act of 1989), and living in crowded and sometimes unsanitary conditions. According to the Texas Nurses Association (TNA), some of the foreign nurses had contacted the TNA explaining that they feared deportation if they complained about their wages and working conditions.
In April 1995, the U.S. Embassy in Manila discovered an abnormally high volume of H-1A visa petitions being filed by nursing homes primarily in Texas and Oklahoma, all allegedly signed by the same person. Billy Denver Jewell, an owner of 22 nursing homes who led the smuggling ring, and four others pleaded guilty in January of this year to federal charges of visa fraud and alien smuggling. In addition, the TNA brought attention to this situation by filing a complaint with the regional wage and hour commission on behalf of the foreign nurses.
While the U.S. Attorney stated that the hospitals, nursing homes, and clinics were most likely unaware of the situation, the ANA asserts that those health care facilities were undoubtedly aware that they were paying wages lower than the prevailing rate.
According to the TNA, an RN in Texas could earn up to $14 an hour; however, as foreign nurses entered the market and accepted lower wages, the prevailing rate for Texas nurses dropped to about $11 per hour. In addition, investigators assert that the influx of foreign nurses led to an increase in the unemployment rate of American nurses in Lubbock County, Texas.
For more on the visa fraud and the Texas Nurses Association's role in uncovering it, see the March-April 1998 issue of The American Nurse.
Registered nurse Lois Capps, a member of the American Nurses Association\California (ANA\C), could be the next to join nursing's ranks in the halls of Congress this month.
On January 13, she received the majority of votes in a special election primary in California's 22nd district to fill the seat in the U.S. House of Representatives vacated by the death of her husband, freshman Representative Walter Capps (D). Capps, who was endorsed by ANA-PAC and was considered a "friend of nursing," died suddenly of a heart attack at Dulles Airport in October 1997.
Lois Capps, a retired school nurse, campaigned with and for her husband and remained his constant companion and advisor upon his election to the House of Representatives. Following his death, Lois felt she was the best candidate to fulfill what she calls "Walter's legacy." The only Democratic candidate to run in the special election, she faced two lead Republican contenders--State Assemblyman Brooks Firestone, a moderate, and Tom Bordonaro, a conservative.
While she received the majority of the votes cast, she will face Bordonaro in a run-off election on March 10, since none of the candidates received the 51% of the votes needed to win. Capps received approximately 45% of the votes, Bordonaro received 29% of the votes, and Firestone received 25% of the votes. Turnout among the district's 328,000 voters was about 46%.
As her husband had before her, Lois Capps received--and continues to garner--a lot of support from the nursing community during her campaign. Nurses in her district--led by ANA\C member Terry Ajir, RN--formed a campaign called "Nurses for Capps." They were often present in the campaign headquarters "phone banking" and wearing "Nurses for Capps, RN" buttons that were paid for by the ANA-PAC .
In addition, the ANA-PAC and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association co-hosted a Washington, DC, fundraiser in February for Capp's campaign.
If Capps wins the run-off election this month, she will become the third nurse to hold a seat in the current U.S. House of Representatives. Watch The American Nurse for the election results.
Connie Helmlinger is periodicals manager at the American Nurses Association.