New Immigration Laws Impact Unlikely Industries

New immigration laws are having rippling effects on unlikely industries. The new laws now have the nursing staff at the Medical Center of Central Georgia scrambling  to get their licenses renewed.

This year, licensed professionals must submit more documentation to verify their work eligibility. For nurses that deadline is tight and the Secretary of State’s office is warning delays in processing the added paperwork could mean nurses won’t be able to report to for duty.

Chief Nursing Officer at the Medical Center of Central Georgia, Judy Paull, says the laws are creating impacts that weren’t planned for.

“ It’s one of those down stream consequences that people didn’t necessarily anticipate,” says Paull.

Paull says the Secretary of State’s Office has already told her processing all the licenses may take longer than usual because of the added documentation.

Now, with E-Verify  required by law licensed professionals are feeling an extra burden to get to work.

Paull says, “ I think that the concept of this being an immigration law [didn’t] necessarily translate to someone’s mind that this meant license professionals would be encompassed in these expectations.”

Secretary of State Brian Kemp says his office will not have more manpower to deal with the added paperwork.

“Bottom line is we are going to follow the law. We don’t make it,  and we are going to do the best to get people licensed in a timely manner and get people to work, “ says Kemp.

If less nurses are available Paull worries patient care could be at stake.

“The time line was a little tight. As is often human nature sometimes people like to wait to the last minute to have things renewed,” says Paull.

With time running out the Medical Center is counting on it’s employees to file early.