The New York Times reported on an ICE detention in Texas that involved an outstanding doctor who entered the U.S. legally.
The Times reported:
A Venezuelan-born family physician who had been caring for Americans with chronic illnesses in an area facing a doctor shortage was detained by Border Patrol agents in Texas late Monday.
The doctor, Ezequiel Veliz, was featured in a New York Times article last weekend that detailed how a Trump administration policy had frozen visa extensions, work permits and green cards for citizens of 39 countries, forcing some foreign-born physicians out of U.S. hospitals.
Dr. Veliz treated people with diabetes, hypertension and other ailments, and was named resident of the year in 2025 at UT Health, Rio Grande Valley. He had entered the United States legally and was forced to withdraw from his position after losing his work permit because his immigration status ended. He had been trying to transition to a new visa, according to documents he submitted to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that The Times reviewed.
UT Health did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Dr. Veliz’s husband, Joseph Williams, an American citizen, said the pair were driving from the Rio Grande Valley to Houston on Highway 77 when they were flagged by Border Patrol agents at a checkpoint in Sarita.
Dr. Veliz told the agents that his husband was an American citizen and that he was a foreign physician in the process of obtaining a new visa. The officers did not seem to grasp that, Mr. Williams said, and ordered Dr. Veliz to get out of the vehicle.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
If this administration actually cared about its people, it would welcome medical professionals that are working in this country instead of trying to score political points with their base. The US is facing a shortage of doctors in under served communities and in some specializations.
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More implied advocacy for open borders by this blog. Immigrants like this doctor are a big benefit to America. He provides a needed service, and the taxes he will pay will far exceed whatever public benefits he will receive. That is not true for low-income illegal immigrants, as prominent Democrats often said before speaking the truth became politically incorrect.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/6-times-top-democrats-warned-against-illegal-immigration-called-for-deportations/ar-AA1VJXGE
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This is a perfect example of why liberals/Democrats should not try to attract the right – it’s futile. Democrats have actually deported more than Republicans, yet people like Mel here think Democrats are open-border commies.
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Trump pledged to deport “the worst of the worst.” Do you think this doctor, who entered legally, is “the worst of the worst”? I don’t.
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Nobody is advocating for open borders on this blog, but facts are facts. Undocumented pay far more than they cost us each year. They contribute billions to the economy, and they fill critical roles in industries like agriculture, hospitality, and construction, possess nearly $300 billion in spending power, and contribute billions to Social Security and Medicare despite being ineligible for benefits. Some undocumented immigrants are paying a higher tax rate than some of our large corporations. https://americansfortaxfairness.org/undocumented-immigrants-contribute-economy/
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“Undocumented pay far more than they cost us each year.”
How do people who pay little to nothing in income taxes – mostly from under the table wages – provide a net benefit to public finances? No Democratic leader 20 years ago believed that claim, and no credible economist did either. The costs of public education, ER care, housing, etc. vastly exceed the relative pittances in taxes that low-income illegal immigrants pay. The ultimate goal is to grant them citizenship which will make them 100% eligible for all public assistance programs, which will be even a bigger drain on public finances.
Low-income people receive far more in benefits than they pay in taxes: that is a deliberate feature of an progressive tax structure. Bernie Sanders is now admitting again that we can’t have massive immigration of low-income people. Reality wins over dreamy ideolofy and sentimentality.
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You are a bigot. Are your ancestors Native Americans? I bet they were immigrants.
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ChatGPT answers your question:
For the United States, most comprehensive research finds that immigrants as a whole pay more in taxes than they receive in government benefits—especially over the long term. But the picture varies depending on the group, time frame, and level of government.
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The big picture (what most studies find)
• A wide range of analyses (including work summarized by Brookings Institution and others) conclude that immigrants overall are net fiscal contributors—they generate more tax revenue than they consume in benefits over time. 
• A 30-year analysis (1994–2023) found immigrants paid more in taxes than they received every year and produced a large net fiscal gain. 
• In 2023 alone, one estimate found immigrants paid about $1.3 trillion in taxes vs. $761 billion in benefits. 
Why this happens:
• Immigrants are more likely to be working-age and employed, so they pay payroll and income taxes. 
• Many—especially undocumented immigrants—pay taxes but are ineligible for many benefits. 
• They help support aging populations by adding workers who fund programs like Social Security. 
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Important caveats (where it gets more complicated)
• Higher-skilled or college-educated immigrants tend to be strong net contributors.
• Some lower-income or less-educated groups may receive more in benefits than they pay, especially in the short term. 
Federal vs. state/local budgets
• Federal level: generally positive (more taxes than benefits).
• State and local level: can be mixed or even negative in the short run, mainly due to costs like public education and healthcare. 
Time horizon matters
• First-generation immigrants may have smaller or mixed fiscal effects.
• Their children (second generation) tend to be strong net contributors, often more so than the U.S.-born average. 
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Bottom line
• Overall: Yes—immigrants, on average, pay more in taxes than they receive in benefits, especially over the long run.
• But: The effect varies by education, legal status, and whether you’re looking at federal vs. local budgets or short vs. long timeframes.
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“You are a bigot.”
As always, when fanatically partisan people don’t have a rational argument, they hurl personal insults. You claim that you oppose open borders, but then you imply that everyone who desires to relocate to America should be allowed to because only American Indians are not originally immigrants. That’s factually incorrect: American Indians also moved to North America way back when.
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The doctor who was arrested was legally admitted. Why should he be deported?
Don’t you remember Trump saying he would deport “the worst of the worst”? How is this young doctor the worst of the worst?
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They often pay into federal benefits that they are ineligible to receive. When they spend money, they contribute to the economy. Many own their own business, and some even hire Americans. When they pay rent, some of those rent dollars go towards paying the building’s property taxes.
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Hey Mel – Billionaires like your Jeebus Trump pay ZERO tax while accepting billions in anonymous crypto bribes. Let’s kick them out.
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Law? Procedures? All you need to know about the Purpose of the administration happens when ice agents arrest people who have just shown up for a legal hearing.
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