Houston Doctors Facing Deportation Receive Temporary Stay

HOUSTON, TX — In a last-minute move on Thursday, two Houston doctors facing deportation were granted a 90-day stay intended to allow them time to arrange the immigration paperwork that would permit them to work and live legally in the United States.

Pankaj Satija and Monika Ummat, both neurologists, have lived in Houston for more than a decade; Pankaj was originally sponsored for a green card by the Houston Methodist Hospital System in 2008, and the couple, who have two children and own a home in West University Place, have treated thousands of patients. Pankaj helped found the Pain and Headache Centers of Texas, and Monika specializes in epilepsy at Texas Children's Hospital.

The couple's immigration woes are the result of a backlog in the granting of green cards; since they arrived in Houston, the pair have been on a provisional status, and have had to renew their documentation every two years, as required by law. In 2016, the Houston Chronicle reported, the documents were, for an unknown reason, renewed for one year only.

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That's where the current troubles began. (In another twist, the Customs and Border Protection agency stamped the couple's travel documents as expiring in June 2017, but U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials stated that the documents expired in June of 2016.)

All was well until a family emergency in October 2016 forced the pair to travel to India, where they stayed for a week. At the airport back in the U.S. after their trip, customs officials noted that their travel documents had expired.

"The officer looked at it and said it's a common mistake, that it was no big deal," Satija told the Chronicle.

Satija and Ummat were admitted into the U.S. under deferred inspection, a program that allows some individuals to enter the country even though they are not in possession of legal paperwork. The program stipulates that the individuals must resolve the paperwork issues in a fixed period of time.

The doctors applied for the renewal of their travel documents, which allowed them to remain in the U.S. and travel while waiting on their green cards. In addition, they said they contacted the Customs and Border Protection agency monthly, as required, to extend their temporary permission to remain in the U.S. while the permanent approval process was underway.

On Monday, they were informed that the process was complete, and that their paperwork was in the mail. However, when the couple contacted Customs and Border officials, they were informed that the agency's new policy prevented an extension of their temporary stay.

"Somebody up there has decided you have to leave the country in the next 24 hours," a customs agent told the couple, according to the Chronicle.

"There's been a technical error made here and our situation is completely an oversight, an error made in innocence," Satija said on Thursday. "But taking me and Monika away from our patients right now jeopardizes so much for the citizens of this country. We understand we need to take care of this but that should allow them to give us some time."

Gordon Quan, an attorney representing the doctors, blamed the Trump administration for the situation.

"These are not tough decisions. These are not criminals, not a threat to society," he said. "It's just the rigidity of the system ... and instead of trying to work with people, the new administration is just trying to force them out, no matter what."

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— Main image: Pankaj Satija/Houston Methodist