HOUSTON, Texas -- More than 20% of college-educated immigrants in the U.S., or two million people, are either unemployed or underemployed, according to new research.

The Migration Policy Institute, which authored the study, said the disparity accounts for significant "brain waste," and huge losses in potential taxes for state and local governments. The Institute's new research shows many foreign-trained professionals end up driving a taxi or doing janitorial work to make ends meet.

Courtney Brown, vice president of impact and planning at Lumina Foundation, which supported the report, said failing to use those talents results in devastating costs to workers and the nation.

"We're hurting individuals, we're hurting generations of individuals, the states' economies and the U.S. economy, because we're leaving all this talent on a shelf," Brown asserted. "We are not valuing what they're bringing here."

Brown noted the health-care worker shortage during the pandemic as an example. As the crisis worsened, some states reduced licensing barriers to tap the skills of foreign-trained experts. She pointed out while the results were mixed, the efforts brought the issue to light.

Brown believes helping immigrants succeed is an urgent national priority. The U.S. faces an estimated shortfall of eight million workers between now and 2027, amid declining birth rates and an aging workforce. She sees immigrants as a primary source of future labor-force growth.

"Black immigrants, as well as Black native-borns, are more likely to be underemployed," Brown observed. "So, an immigrant perhaps from the U.K., or a white immigrant that's foreign-trained, is not as likely to be underemployed as a Black immigrant."

In addition to race and ethnicity, the study found English proficiency and legal status are strong predictors of brain waste. Brown emphasized lost wages from trained migrants are estimated at nearly $40 billion annually, and as a result, governments lose $10 billion a year in tax revenue. She hopes President Biden's immigration reform bill will prompt positive changes.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.

"Deported veterans" may sound like an oxymoron. But it is not, and those veterans are working to get pardons in the last days of President Joe Biden's term.

Around the country, 94,000 veterans do not have citizenship, which means, if they violate certain laws, they are at risk of deportation regardless of their service record.

Laura Meza Alvarado, a formerly deported veteran living in Maryland on humanitarian parole, is part of a program to allow deported veterans to enter the U.S. to access Department of Veterans Affairs health care.

Meza was brought to the U.S. from Costa Rica in 1985 by her parents. She enlisted in the Army at 23 years old but did not receive her citizenship. She said there was a lot of confusion around her immigration status.

"The recruiter had mentioned some different things," Meza recounted. "They made promises like, 'Oh well, you know, when you go into the military, if you go to combat, you're going to be an automatic citizen.' So you hear different things from people, and it's just maybe a tactic to get you to enlist."

Any green-card holder enlisting in the military can file paperwork to become a citizen on their first day at boot camp. Meza pointed out confusion, in addition to dealing with military sexual trauma and PTSD while in the service, meant she left the service without her citizenship.

Meza then began using drugs and alcohol to cope with the trauma she experienced. She eventually was convicted of attempted robbery and was deported after serving two years in prison.

Danitza James, president of Repatriate Our Patriots, argued by the time Meza had committed a crime, she should have already been a citizen.

"That conviction, for her, bars her from applying for U.S. citizenship," James stressed. "Despite her honorable combat service, she's not eligible to obtain or seek naturalization, something that should have happened while she was in service."

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, Meza is barred from applying for citizenship because of the charge.

Deported veterans such as Meza are running up against the clock. President-elect Donald Trump campaigned this year on a promise of mass deportations. James noted Meza and deported veterans like her would be at risk under such policies. She argued Biden must honor his commitment to veterans.

"President Biden, this is something that you must honor, and these are the same veterans that fought alongside his son," James urged. "We owe it to them to act. It's a shame that we are good enough to serve and die for this country but not good enough to live and get a second chance in this country."

In July 2021, the Departments of Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs created the Immigrant Military Members and Veterans Initiative. At the end of 2023, more than 90 veterans had reentered the U.S. through the program.

One New Yorker is redoubling efforts to get a pardon from Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Pascal "Shakoure" Charpentier has called New York his home for 52 years after being born on an Army base in Germany but Immigration and Customs Enforcement is trying to deport him for being a Haitian immigrant -- which he isn't -- citing a criminal conviction from his youth. Charpentier worries about President-elect Donald Trump's mass deportation plan, which he said would threaten people like himself with complicated immigration status.

"It's very difficult to imagine what day-to-day life would be like when you're constantly worrying if there's going to be a van in front of your house," Charpentier pointed out. "Am I going to be stopped at my workplace and asked to come out and then, find myself in handcuffs?"

Polls show half of Americans support the mass deportation plan despite the economic impacts it would have. Charpentier has presented evidence proving his naturalized status but prosecutors dismiss it. He added there has not been an official reason to deny the pardon and suspects politics are at play. He said he is holding out hope a pardon could still be granted.

After being released from a New Jersey detention center in 2020, he had to wear an ankle monitor. Now, he wears a wrist monitor, which Charpentier emphasized greatly impacts his daily life. He often meets with clients in his work as an interactive media designer, noting it is hard to keep the order of deportation from affecting his career.

"Sometimes I may be in a meeting with a client and my ankle monitor goes off, or I'm called in to report for a check-in," Charpentier explained. "Many times it is very inflexible."

The first time he was detained, he said he lost a significant number of clients. Following his release, he had to rebuild and restart. But as draining as it can be, he added it empowers him to continue.


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With 2025 almost here, organizations assisting Minnesota's Latino populations say they're laser focused on a couple of areas - mental health-care access and securing temporary protections to those fleeing violence in Ecuador.

Communities Organizing Latino Power and Action, or COPAL, says the two issues can overlap.

Federal officials face increasing pressure to grant Temporary Protected Status to Ecuadorians residing in Minnesota and other states. TPS allows these individuals to work in the U.S. on a short-term basis.

The Coordinator for COPAL's Workers' Center, Claudia Lainez, said not everyone qualifies for asylum status - but added that there's the same level of desire to fill labor shortages.

"We have a lot of workers that are ready to take some of these jobs," said Lainez, "but they don't have the proper documentation to do so."

Ecuador isn't on the list of countries with TPS designation. Calls for urgency grow with the likelihood of a mass deportation plan under the incoming Trump administration.

Critics of the program say it has stretched beyond its original mission.

Meanwhile, COPAL is working with local partners to overcome language barriers for Latinos needing health care, including those still feeling past trauma from their native country.

Cecilia Calabria is COPAL's health promoter manager - and she said overall, access to health insurance and care can be hard for Latinos because of those language barriers and trust issues about reaching out.

For mental health care, she said the language problem is very noticeable.

"Mental health is not something that you can do with an interpreter," said Calabria. "You really need to do it in your own language, in the way you can express."

Calabria added that there's mental health stigma within the Latino community, and for chronic health needs, there's an information gap in seeking preventive care.

She said that often stems from the landscape in the countries they immigrated from.

COPAL's health navigators link these populations with resources.

Starting in 2025, Minnesota will allow undocumented individuals to apply for certain forms of state health coverage aid, so long as they meet various requirements.