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Dr. Ezequiel Véliz, a Venezuelan physician specializing in Family Medicine, was arrested last Sunday by Border Patrol agents at a checkpoint in Texas, accused of violating the terms of his visa while traveling with his husband, a U.S. citizen, in the process of moving to Houston, reported Telemundo.
The doctor had legally entered the United States with a student visa, then changed to Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and, subsequently, the hospital where he worked — UT Health Rio Grande Valley in McAllen — initiated the process for a J-1 visa on his behalf. His immigration status expired while he was waiting for the approval of that document.
At the time of his arrest, Dr. Véliz was carrying a letter from the Texas state medical board and immigration documents that confirmed his case was still active.
According to her sister Génesis Véliz, the documents she presented as evidence to the officers did not matter to them, and they took her away in custody.
Your case is situated within a broader context: according to recent reports, more than 100 foreign doctors in J-1 visa residency programs have been impacted by current immigration policies.
Meanwhile, the arrests of immigrants with no criminal record have increased eightfold in the recent period.
Two days after the arrest, the family still did not know which facility he was being held in, and no case number had been assigned. "I haven't heard anything about my brother."
"Honestly, I don’t know which center it is specifically because, despite the fact that 48 hours have passed, they still haven’t assigned a case number," her sister stated.
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