Immigration officials threaten to remove two Houston surgeons

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Trump immigration officials are threatening to remove two prominent Houston surgeons Thursday after refusing at the last minute to extend their temporary permission to stay in the U.S., potentially jeopardizing the care of dozens of patients who have specialized surgeries scheduled with the two doctors in coming weeks.

It's the latest example of the government taking an unusually hard line on immigration and declining to consider cases on an individual basis.

"I have 50 patients today and 40 patients tomorrow," said Dr. Pankaj Satija, a neurologist who helped found the Pain and Headache Centers of Texas. "I'm just concerned they'll be left in a lurch. They could land up in the emergency room."

The couple has been here legally for more than a decade after coming here from India to do research and complete their medical residencies. The Houston Methodist Hospital System sponsored Satija for his green card around 2008 and the Labor Department certified that no Americans could perform his job in 2010.

But because of rules limiting how many immigrants can actually receive permanent residency each year and a tremendous backlog in the process, the couple was provided a provisional status until their green cards become available. The category for India is currently so behind that only immigrants who applied for the labor certification before June 2008 are receiving their green cards.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/immigration-officials-threaten-to-remove-two-houston-surgeons/ar-BBz4iKj?li=BBnbfcL&ocid=edgsp

[Ilsa]

1. The trumping racists don't care who they hurt. NT

[Docreed2003]

2. So this is extremely eff'ed up...but a point of clarification...

Neurologists, and the article states that both are neurologists multiple times, are not Surgeons.

That being said, this type of targeted deportation will have extreme ramifications throughout the medical community, especially in rural areas. Not only does this administration wish to harm patients by removing their healthcare coverage...they want to remove their doctors too! This is absolutely asinine, barbaric, and shortsided.

[Princess Turandot]

3. I assume they do pain management procedures, which confused the reporter...

re: them being 'surgeons'.

I wonder how this is impacting residency planning at the large teaching hospitals, which in urban centers like here in NYC hire many foreign medical school grads. Countries like India are not on a 'banned' list right now, but with this lunatic in charge, who knows what he might do next month.

[Docreed2003]

4. It's not just large urban teaching hospitals unfortunately

The vast majority of residency training programs have a percentage of foreign medical grads and pulling them from their training would be devastating to them and the parent hospitals. The same goes for J-1 providers, many in rural areas....the administrations plans would decimate those communities, and disrupt the lives of those providers and their families irreparably.