Overview
- Ezequiel Véliz, a 32-year-old Venezuelan doctor in South Texas, was released on bond after Border Patrol held him at the McAllen detention center.
- His family says he went a week without a shower or toothbrush, slept on the floor, and felt cold while in custody.
- Another Venezuelan physician, Rubeliz Bolívar, was detained at McAllen airport while traveling to an asylum appointment with her young daughter and remains in custody.
- José Gregorio Valera remains in federal custody after ICE arrested him at an in-person asylum appointment in Nashville, and his wife reports serious health issues and a wait for basic care.
- At least three Venezuelan doctors have been detained in recent weeks, which has alarmed communities that lack clinicians and drawn questions that federal officials have not answered.