{"id":344276,"date":"2025-12-12T11:28:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T11:28:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/344276\/"},"modified":"2025-12-12T11:28:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T11:28:14","slug":"trump-officials-conspiring-to-illegally-intimidate-non-citizens-via-new-va-report-lawmakers-say-us-immigration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/344276\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump officials \u2018conspiring to illegally intimidate\u2019 non-citizens via new VA report, lawmakers say | US immigration"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than 20 members of Congress are demanding answers from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and homeland security officials after the Guardian revealed <\/a>the VA is compiling a report on all non-US citizens \u201cemployed by or affiliated with\u201d the government agency that will then be shared with other federal agencies, including immigration authorities.<\/p>\n

The lawmakers, led by Illinois congresswoman Delia Ramirez \u2013 along with congressman Mark Takano of California and US senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, the top Democrats<\/a> on the House and Senate veterans affairs committees \u2013 have written a group letter to be sent to the VA secretary, Doug Collins, and the secretary of homeland security, Kristi Noem, on Friday.<\/p>\n

The letter, shared with the Guardian, said the report, to be finalized this month, will \u201cseed fear in noncitizens who perform duties in service to our nation\u2019s veterans\u201d during a time when the Trump administration is aggressively arresting<\/a>, detaining and deporting thousands of immigrants<\/a> in communities nationwide.<\/p>\n

Other co-signers of the letter include US senator Tammy Duckworth, of Illinois, California congressman Robert Garcia, the ranking member of the House oversight committee, Texas congressman Greg Casar, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and Washington congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, ranking member of the House judiciary subcommittee on immigration integrity, security, and enforcement.<\/p>\n

The VA operates the nation\u2019s largest integrated healthcare system, serving 9 million veterans annually across 170 hospitals and more than 1,000 outpatient clinics. It employs 450,000 workers and enjoys relationships with most major medical schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is obvious that the VA and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are conspiring to illegally intimidate, imprison, and deport individuals who perform duties at the VA in service to our nation\u2019s veterans,\u201d the lawmakers wrote.<\/p>\n

The VA has confirmed to the Guardian that the department intends to share some of the data it gathers with other federal agencies, including for immigration enforcement purposes. The report on the non-citizen individuals at the VA is due to be provided to Collins later this month.<\/p>\n

The VA\u2019s leaked memo implies non-citizen doctors, nurses, researchers, medical students, contractors and more will be included in the report.<\/p>\n

The Guardian sent the VA a detailed inquiry and request for comment.<\/p>\n

VA press secretary Peter Kasperowicz responded with the following statement: \u201cVA is required by federal law to continuously vet all employees and affiliates, such as unpaid researchers and others who may have access to VA data or systems, to ensure they meet the federal government\u2019s trusted workforce standards<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs part of this continuous process, VA on November 25 directed under secretaries, assistant secretaries and other key officials to provide a report on all non-United States citizens who are employed by or affiliated with VA. This will not affect veterans seeking care or services at VA, or the delivery of care and services.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

In an appearance on Fox New<\/a>s last weekend, Collins called the Guardian\u2019s report \u201ca nothing story\u201d.<\/p>\n

However, lawmakers, veterans and VA employees said the mere act of compiling this data, exclusively on non-citizens, could lead qualified workers to quit and exacerbate existing staffing shortages.<\/p>\n

In August, the VA inspector general reported<\/a> \u201csevere\u201d staffing shortages at all of its hospitals. An analysis of VA <\/a>data by the Guardian shows the agency has lost thousands of \u201cmission-critical\u201d healthcare workers since Trump returned to office \u2013 including nearly 3,000 nurses and more than 1,000 doctors.<\/p>\n

Heather Fallon, an emergency department nurse at the Captain James A Lovell Federal Health Care Center,<\/a> a veterans hospital in North Chicago, said conditions there are worsening daily.<\/p>\n

Democratic congresswoman Delia Ramirez outside the Capitol in March. Photograph: Tom Williams\/CQ-Roll Call, Inc\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

On Tuesday night, the emergency department, which is typically staffed with seven to eight nurses \u2013 had three or four on duty, she said. The VA declined to comment on staffing at the hospital. Fallon said the VA\u2019s decision to allow ICE activities<\/a> at the facility had already put fear into the hearts of veteran patients and health care workers and that report being compiled will further terrify patients and staff.<\/p>\n

Fallon spoke to the Guardian in her capacity as a member of the union, National Nurses United, which also released a statement<\/a> opposing the VA\u2019s creation of a database of non-citizens.<\/p>\n

In New York City, a doctor working at a VA hospital, who asked that their identity not be published for fear of retaliation said she worried the agency\u2019s increasingly tough-on-immigration stance could have an especially severe impact on veterans\u2019 access to specialists.<\/p>\n

About 30% of psychiatrists and neurologists and more than 50% of gerontologists and kidney specialists in the United States graduated from medical schools outside the country, according to published data<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Because many VA hospitals are in rural areas with chronic doctor shortages<\/a>, the agency has traditionally recruited many foreign workers, including facilitating the physicians\u2019 legal status through the use of National Interest Waivers.<\/a> The DHS and state department have sought to impose limits on visas<\/a> for some healthcare workers this year, a move opposed by professional, medical associations and immigrant rights groups.<\/p>\n

In Michigan, retired air force master sergeant Rachel Youkey said she is already experiencing delays in care linked to the immigration crackdown<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A munitions expert who sustained a brain injury from an Afghanistan bomb blast while serving there from 2010 to 2011, Youkey receives care at the VA hospital in Ann Arbor, where many workers are medical residents from the nearby University of Michigan.<\/p>\n

She said she used to love her primary care physician, a student from Korea. But after he graduated last year, he was not replaced. She has not had a regular doctor since. \u201cI don\u2019t care if someone is a citizen,\u201d she said. \u201cI care that they know what they are doing. Are they competent? I\u2019ll take competency above citizenship every time.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his appearance on Fox News, Collins attempted to downplay the VA\u2019s efforts to collect data on non-citizens, saying the forthcoming report is \u201csimply us going back through the process, making sure that we have updated our rolls, updated our background checks, updated the folks so that they\u2019re actually supposed to be here\u201d.<\/p>\n

In their letter, however, the Democratic lawmakers express alarm over the breadth of the VA\u2019s data collection efforts.<\/p>\n

\u201cForeign-born individuals fill critical roles at VA as employees, contractors, and volunteers, including in research, healthcare, and benefits delivery,\u201d the letter says, adding that the data collection \u201ccomes at a time when nationwide healthcare provider shortages are limiting access to care for all Americans, including veterans\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe broad, undefined nature of the phrase \u2018or affiliated with VA\u2019 used throughout the memorandum cited in the Guardian leads us to worry that the data collection could sweep far beyond the walls of VA and our own borders,\u201d the letter adds. \u201cIt is not beyond the realm of possibility that the database of all non-US citizens employed by or affiliated with VA will only lead to more illegal detentions and deportations of individuals who dedicate themselves to improving veterans\u2019 lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kristofer Goldsmith, an Iraq war<\/a> veteran who heads Task Force Butler, an advocacy group that counters extremism, said: \u201cIt seems like the Trump administration is trying to reduce \u2013 not just the availability of healthcare for veterans, but for all Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cThere are tons of immigrants who come to the United States, dream of being citizens, become doctors, are straight-A students, are law-abiding people, who then train or work at the VA saving lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lawmakers warn that the report could also lead to increased immigration enforcement against military veterans themselves, some of whom have already<\/a> been deported<\/a> under Trump. Veterans make up over a quarter of the VA\u2019s workforce, and it is not a requirement to be a US citizen to serve in the military.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorst of all, the proposed data collection could lead to the unlawful imprisonment or deportation of veterans who served our country and continued their service at VA, but were denied US citizenship following their military service,\u201d the lawmakers write.<\/p>\n

The VA directive requires \u201call needed data\u201d to be provided by 26 December. A full report on all non-United States citizens with a relationship with the agency is to be provided to Collins 30 December.<\/p>\n

In their letter, the Democratic senators and House members request documents and data from the VA and DHS, giving them a deadline of 24 December. They also requested a congressional briefing by 19 December.<\/p>\n

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