As Wisconsin communities face rising healthcare costs and worker shortages, a new report highlighted how immigrant workers are essential to keeping the state’s care system running and why supporting them benefits residents across the state.

Immigrants make up 6% of Wisconsin’s healthcare workforce, including 12% of its doctors, according to findings from the advocacy group Kids Forward and the Immigration Research Initiative.

Amanda Martinez, senior policy analyst for Kids Forward, said recognizing their contributions is especially important as federal policies create fear and uncertainty for families.

"In rural counties specifically, immigrants account for 9% of doctors helping provide care in communities that often face greater challenges in attracting and retaining healthcare professionals," Martinez reported.

More than half of Wisconsin’s 72 counties are designated health professional shortage areas, affecting roughly 1.7 million residents, with rural and lower-income communities hit the hardest. Martinez warned federal policies could worsen shortages and limit access to care for Wisconsin residents.

While Martinez acknowledged immigration policy is primarily handled on the federal level, she stressed there are measures state and local leaders can take to ensure immigrant communities feel supported.

"Protecting access to healthcare and nutrition assistance," Martinez urged. "We are seeing at the federal level a lot of this be taken away. So it's important that all eligible families are still able to access these public benefits."

Martinez noted Wisconsin’s immigrant workforce also has room to grow. Just 8% of personal care workers in the state are immigrants, compared to 20% nationally. She noted the state can address its growing need for care for seniors and people with disabilities if it prioritizes expanding pathways into healthcare careers and safeguarding sensitive personal information to better support immigrants.

The report called on policymakers to improve wages and working conditions and expand access to driver’s licenses regardless of immigration status.

"Immigrant workers are part of our communities and they are caring for Wisconsin families. They also deserve dignity and opportunities to basic needs," Martinez contended.

Source: Public News Service