Josh Hawley: Biden Must Disclose If He is Diverting Doctors from U.S. Veterans, Sending them to Treat Border Crossers

CBP/Mani Albrecht
CBP/Mani Albrecht

President Joe Biden must disclose if he is planning to divert doctors from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to send them to treat border crossers and illegal aliens, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) says.

In a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Hawley accuses Biden of exacerbating historically high illegal immigration levels with plans to end Title 42 — the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) authority that has allowed officials to quickly return more than 1.7 million illegal aliens to their native countries since 2020.

Following reports over the last week, Hawley is asking Biden to clarify and disclose if his administration is considering sending VA doctors, meant to be caring for American military veterans, to the U.S.-Mexico border to provide free medical care to border crossers and illegal aliens.

Hawley writes:

I am particularly alarmed at new reports suggesting that DHS plans to divert doctors from the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide free medical resources to those crossing our border illegally. In the words of one [Customs and Border Protection] official, “We’re going to take medical services away from people that really deserve that, who went to combat … to give free medical attention to illegal migrants.” [Emphasis added]

Does DHS plan to divert medical resources from the Department of Veteran Affairs to provide free medical services to illegal aliens? [Emphasis added]

Already, Americans are forced to subsidize medical care for illegal aliens to the tune of $18.5 billion annually. Last year alone, Americans footed the bill for more than $316 million in medical care for border crossers and illegal aliens who were detained in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody.

Likewise, Hawley mentions that the Biden administration is providing border crossers and illegal aliens with free cellphones as part of their expansive Catch and Release network, where hundreds of thousands are released into the U.S. interior every few months.

As Breitbart News reported, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed on Wednesday that the administration is giving free cellphones to border crossers and illegal aliens. Psaki defended the program as an effort to trace the whereabouts of those released, though many have suggested that border crossers and illegal aliens are throwing the phones away after they are released into the U.S. interior.

“There are also reports that DHS plans to provide migrants with free phones,” Hawley writes. “In addition, a leaked memorandum titled ‘DHS Southwest Border Mass Irregular Contingency Plan’ details your plan to maximize the ability of illegal immigrants to apply for [immigration] relief.”

Biden officials admit that lifting Title 42 is likely to bring a massive influx of border crossers and illegal aliens to the border, with potentially 500,000 arriving at the border every month — a more than doubling of current illegal immigration levels.

The expected rise in illegal immigration suggests that a foreign population the size of Atlanta, Georgia, or Fresno, California, could arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border every month with the hopes of being released into the nation’s interior.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here

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