Almost deported
Regarding “Reprieve spares doctors facing removal to India” (Page A1, Friday), as a doctor, I read with shock the story about two Houston doctors being told to leave the U.S. abruptly due to a paperwork error.
Doctors Pankaj Satija and his wife Monika Ummat have lived in Houston legally for 10 years, work in Texas Medical Center and are in good standing with the Texas Medical Board. According to the article, they complied with all requirements of the Customs and Border Patrol. They are accused of nothing more than a clerical error.
Amazingly, they were just hours from being forced to leave their home, their busy medical practices, and the only country their young children have ever known until an 11th-hour court order granted a 90-day reprieve.
What do we gain by forcing them to leave America? Will the best and brightest continue to fight to come to America if we casually toss them aside for typographical errors?
At his recent town hall, U.S. Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, said ICE would target “criminals and bad guys,” and that he would use the power of the purse to prevent law-abiding, contributing members of our society from being at risk. Doctors Satija and Ummat seem to be the ideal example of people we want to keep in Houston.
We should be thankful they received a stay, but we should be troubled that this happened to them and possibly many others with lesser skills or access to legal representation. We are better than this.
Jason Westin, Houston