More than 50 Republicans in the House of Representatives are pushing for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to use Veterans Affairs (VA) medical staff to halt an expected increase in immigrant borders. The letter comes just over a month before the May 23 expiration date for Title 42 policy – a Trump-era public health mandate that allows the deportation of most immigrants to the United States because of COVID-19. After President Biden announced earlier this month that he would end the mandate, fears grew about a possible increase in immigrants to the southern border as a result. Fox News reported shortly before Biden’s announcement that the CBP was considering the idea of helping VA staff care for immigrants. ABAKOTT ACHIEVES PACKAGE ABOVE TECHNIQUES-MEXICO BORDER TRUCK INSPECTIONS, ABSORTS HIM FOR PRICE INCREASES “On March 29, 2022, a CBP report stated that border crossings were on the rise due to the withdrawal of this authority. The report presents a dire situation that could lead to up to 18,000 possible encounters per day. “This could lead to more than 540,000 meetings in a single month,” said the GOP, led by spokeswoman Jody Hice, R-Ga. to handle the expected huge increase. ” The letter, addressed to Homeland Security Minister Alejandro Mallorca, said any thought of moving VA medical staff to the border would be “deeply worrying”. “Moving VA medical staff away from our veterans’ healthcare needs to examine illegal immigrants is a recipe for disaster,” the letter said. “Waiting times for a veteran to see his doctor can be an average of 22 days and up to 42 days. This is unacceptable mismanagement of federal government funds by the Biden government.” Spokeswoman Jody Hice, R-Ga., Attends the Freedom Caucus press conference on immigration outside the Capitol on Wednesday, March 17, 2021. (Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images) MODERATE DEMOCRATS URGES NOT TO CANCEL TITLE 42 Hice was accompanied by 53 other Republicans in the House on the letter, including GOP conference chair Elise Stefanik, RN.Y., and representatives Kat Cammack, R-Fla., Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, and Andy Biggs, R -Ariz. According to a CBP source who has worked in law enforcement for more than 20 years and is familiar with the process, the use of VA personnel to assist with medical care and COVID-19 shots for migrants is not yet ruled out. “He does not seem to be off the table with an entire government response” to handle the wave at the border, the source said. The source added that such an arrangement would most likely be part of a “voluntary force” that would ask federal agencies to help address the increase. A CBP spokesman told Fox News on Wednesday that he had no evidence that such talks were taking place, but could not rule it out. Immigrant men from many countries are being held by U.S. Border Patrol agents at the U.S.-Mexico border on December 7, 2021 in Yuma, Arizona. (John Moore / Getty Images) CLICK HERE TO RECEIVE THE FOX NEWS APPLICATION An “entire government response” could reflect a very broad strategy outlined in a March 30 press release from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) overseeing the CBP. Entitled “Preparations for a Possible Increase in Migration,” DHS said in a statement that it was “ready to increase staffing and resources at the southwest border.” “DHS has moved DHS officers, agents and staff to decompress points quickly across borders and to process migrants more efficiently,” DHS said in a press release. In particular, it did not mention VA, which is not part of DHS. The press release also stated that it would implement “COVID-19 mitigation measures”, including the distribution of PPE. But again he did not mention the possibility of VA staff helping in this. “Biden’s failed policies on open borders are no excuse for diverting resources away from our veterans. Our men and women who put their lives on the line to protect our freedoms and the sovereignty of our country deserve them. “better resources for their health care needs,” Hice said in a statement separate from the GOP letter. “The Biden administration must respond to the American people. Even the thought of abandoning our veterans’ care of the needs of illegal aliens is shameful.”
