In today’s News and Commentary, the Trump Administration quietly exempts foreign doctors from its travel ban, job openings hold steady as the labor market sends mixed signals, and 30,000 healthcare workers prepare to strike across the University of California hospital system.

The Trump Administration has quietly exempted foreign physicians from an immigration processing freeze that had left hospitals facing staffing gaps. The Department of Homeland Security had paused visa extensions, work permits, and green card decisions for nationals of 39 countries under a travel policy imposed earlier this year. Without a formal announcement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services updated its website last week to indicate that physician applications would continue processing. The reversal followed mounting pressure from the American Medical Association and other medical groups, who warned that the freeze was pulling doctors away from patients in already-underserved communities. The country faces an estimated shortage of 65,000 physicians, a gap projected to grow significantly in the coming decade. The exemption applies only to doctors already in the United States; physicians from affected countries who have not yet entered the country may still face barriers.

U.S. job openings held essentially flat at 6.9 million in March, according to the latest JOLTS data, another sign that the labor market remained sluggish even before the full economic impact of the Iran war. The report offered mixed signals: Layoffs rose, but hiring improved, and more workers quit their jobs, typically read as a sign of confidence that better opportunities are available. Job openings have declined steadily since peaking at 12.3 million in March 2022, weighed down by high interest rates, policy uncertainty, and the potential displacement effects of artificial intelligence. The April jobs report, due Friday, is expected to show employers added a modest 57,000 net jobs with unemployment holding at 4.3%.

About 30,000 healthcare workers are preparing to walk off the job May 14 across the University of California hospital system in what would be the latest in a growing wave of healthcare-sector strikes. The workers—vocational nurses, medical assistants, MRI technicians, and other staff organized with AFSCME Local 3299—have been without a contract since 2024. The union says the UC system unilaterally implemented a healthcare plan without bargaining and refused to negotiate over housing benefits, prompting unfair labor practice charges. About 13,000 union members have left the UC system since the pandemic, and the union says remaining employees sometimes face patient ratios double the state’s recommendation. Healthcare-sector strikes rose 58% last year compared to 2024, even as total work stoppages across all industries declined, according to Cornell’s labor action tracker. Earlier this year, employees at New York City hospitals and Kaiser Permanente locations in Los Angeles and Hawaii stopped working for several weeks over similar concerns. The university has countered with a proposed 32.3% wage increase through 2029, but the union says the offer does not address the staffing crisis driving burnout and turnover.