172 Iowa doctors came from countries subject to Trump travel ban

Iowa, whose medical system relies on professionals from other countries, has 172 physicians from the seven nations that are subject to President Donald Trump's new travel ban.

One of them said Tuesday that even if the controversial order is lifted, it could give young physicians pause when they're deciding whether to come here.

“It doesn’t make people feel good. It doesn’t make people feel wanted,” said Siroos Shirazi, a longtime University of Iowa surgeon who emigrated from Iran in 1970.

More than 3,000 of the 13,000 physicians who hold active Iowa licenses were born outside the United States, according to the Iowa Board of Medicine, which regulates the profession. The largest group, 882, were born in India. But 172 were born in one of the seven predominantly Muslim countries that are subject to the temporary travel ban President Trump announced Friday.

Of the 172, 69 were born in Syria, 59 were born in Iran, 19 were born in Iraq, 13 were born in Sudan, nine were born in Libya, two were born in Yemen and one was born in Somalia. In addition, five physicians born in one of those countries have applied for Iowa medical licenses.

Shirazi, who lives in Iowa City, is a U.S. citizen and an emeritus medical professor at the University of Iowa. He is a former president of the Iowa Medical Society and a former chairman of the state medical board. He noted that rural areas tend to rely most heavily on physicians from other countries. That’s partly because foreign-born doctors can obtain special visas by agreeing to serve at least two years in an underserved area.

Trump has explained his temporary travel limits and new "extreme vetting" of potential immigrants are meant to ensure "radical Islamic terrorists" are kept out of the country.

Shirazi noted no terrorist from his homeland has killed anyone in America. In fact, he said, many Iranian immigrants have experienced the danger of religious zealotry in their homeland, and they embrace America's freedom and moderation. Although Trump’s action could cause temporary image problems for the United States, it shouldn’t cause permanent damage, he said. “There are more decent people in the United States than anywhere else in the world, so I’m not worried."

Clare Kelly, chief executive officer of the Iowa Medical Society, said no one is sure how Trump's temporary travel restrictions and promises of "extreme vetting" for prospective immigrants might affect Iowa's ability to recruit physicians from overseas.

“It’s so broad that we just need some guidance,” she said. “We don’t know what we don’t know.”

Kelly noted that Iowa ranks 44th in the country in doctors per capita, and ranks last in some specialties, such as obstetrics and emergency medicine.

“Foreign-born physicians and foreign medical graduates are integral and valued members of the medical community in Iowa,” she said.

Trump's order has drawn criticism from national health care organizations. The American Medical Student Association termed the order a "deplorable barrier to accessing health care." The group said it "recognizes that there are still issues in health care regarding lack of a diverse workforce and deficiency of providers, specifically in rural and low-income areas of medical need. This ban will ultimately ensure that our country impedes the resolution of these issues, essentially guaranteeing that it remains difficult to find a healthcare provider."

Mark Bowden, the state medical board’s executive director, cautioned that the board’s database doesn’t show how long ago immigrant doctors came to the United States or whether they have become U.S. citizens. It only shows where they were born.