The Resident's Spring Premiere Forces Mina to Make a Shocking Decision

Mina Okafor has found a way to circumvent the looming threat of deportation — but The Resident fans won’t like it.

During the Fox drama’s midseason premiere on Tuesday, the Chastain Park surgeon announced her plan to avoid getting sent out of the United States: She’s voluntarily going back home to Nigeria.

Though Mina’s immigration lawyer filed for an appeal in her case, which would buy her some time to prove that Dr. Cain is behind this legal mess, Mina came to the solemn realization that the appeal process could take months… and her visa expires next week. If she chooses to go back to Nigeria on her own, at least she can apply to return to the United States someday; if she’s deported, it’s unlikely she’ll ever come back.

At the end of the hour, Mina made her choice to go home, largely swayed by the guilt she feels that her mother works in a Nigerian health care system that’s crumbling, since many of the best surgeons leave Nigeria to practice medicine in America — not unlike Mina herself.

“I’m part of the problem,” Mina told AJ. “My mother won’t always be able to sustain this many surgeries a day. She’ll need help… This is the answer to my visa problem. It’s the answer to everything. I don’t want to fight anymore. Leave on my own, before I can be deported. I’m going back to Nigeria.”

And even though AJ was taken aback by Mina’s announcement, she was surely even more surprised by his response: “I’m coming with you.”

Elsewhere in the episode, Conrad treated a pregnant patient named Tina, who was carrying the baby that Dr. Bell’s ex-stepson, Jake, and his husband planned to adopt. But when Tina’s conservative parents learned that a gay couple would be caring for the child, they blocked the adoption, leaving Jake and Gregg heartbroken. They were also, however, completely confident they had done the right thing by revealing to Tina’s parents they were gay instead of hiding their relationship. “Our baby’s still out there,” Gregg reassured his husband. “We just don’t know who he or she is yet.”

Meanwhile, Cain showed the teensiest, tiniest bit of vulnerability with sickle cell disease patient Rose (who knew he was capable?), Jessica and Irving eloped in a sweet, private ceremony at an aquarium, and Devon was relieved to learn he’s not the father of Princess Nadine’s new baby, after all.

What did you think of The Resident‘s midseason premiere? Grade it in our poll below, then hit the comments with your reactions!