Two doctors serving one of Texas’ most physician-starved regions have been detained by immigration authorities, sparking outrage from lawmakers and medical groups who warn the arrests could worsen an already healthcare shortage.
On Monday, April 6, U.S. Border Patrol agents detained Dr. Ezequiel Velize, a doctor from Venezuela, at a roadside checkpoint as he was traveling from the Rio Grande Valley to Houston. Just days later, Dr. Rubeliz “Bibi” Bolivar — also from Venezuela — was detained at the McAllen International Airport as she and her 5-year-old daughter were traveling to a previously scheduled asylum interview in California. Both physicians had obtained legal status to be in the United States, though Veliz’s work permit had recently expired, according to a GoFundMe post by his husband, Joseph Williams.
The detention of the two doctors was announced on social media by U.S. Rep Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, who said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s targeting of such professionals is “destroying lives” and hurting a region that is “severely underserved” when it comes to access to medical care.
“ICE is not going after the worst of the worst, they are targeting people like Dr. Veliz, who has been living in the U.S. for nine years, married to a U.S. citizen, and meeting the healthcare needs of a severely underserved population,” Castro wrote in an April 9 Facebook post.
Dr. Veliz is an award-winning physician who worked at Knapp Medical Center in Weslaco as a resident doctor of UT Health RGV. In 2025, Veliz was recognized as the program’s “best resident doctor,” according to his husband. Veliz was part of the family medicine residency program, according to his LinkedIn, and had previously earned a medical degree from La Universidad Central de Venezuela. Veliz has been in the U.S. for about nine years and had entered the country legally.
“However, due to a recent federal visa pause, Ezequiel’s work permit renewal was halted and he was unexpectedly detained,” the GoFundMe post reads.
Currently, Veliz is being held in a migrant detention facility in McAllen.
Dr. Bolivar is an emergency room physician who works for South Texas Health Systems (STHS), one of the largest hospital systems in the Valley. On Saturday, April 11, Bolivar was traveling to meet her husband in California, where the couple were scheduled to attend an asylum interview, according to a GoFundMe campaign launched by her family. Bolivar and her 5-year-old daughter — a U.S. citizen — were detained by immigration officials at the airport, according to reporting by The New York Times. The child was ultimately released to a relative later that day.
Bolivar has been in the United States lawfully for a decade and had a work permit that was valid through 2030, her husband told the Times.
Castro hasn’t been the only one to condemn the detention of the two doctors. Victor “Seby” Haddad, a McAllen city commissioner who is now seeking a seat in the Texas House of Representatives, sharply criticized the detention of health care professionals “who followed every legal protocol.”
“An attack on one of our physicians is an attack on the dignity of the entire RGV,” Haddad said on Facebook. Haddad’s father is an immigrant and doctor.
The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) also weighed in, describing the detention of doctors like Bolivar as a “threat” to local communities.
“Detaining physicians who are here legally and serving communities in need of vital emergency care is not targeted enforcement. It is a threat to the health of the American people, and it must stop,” ACEP President Dr. L. Anthony Cirillo said in a statement.