Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Elise Stefanik is cosponsoring the Veterans First Act of 2022 to stop the Biden administration from diverting resources for our veterans to manage their self-inflicted southern border crisis.
Specifically, this legislation prohibits the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from prioritizing the needs of illegal immigrants over our nation’s veterans as the Biden administration expects another surge of illegal immigration at the southern border following their efforts to rescind the Title 42 immigration policy.
“I will always stand up for our brave veterans and their hard-earned benefits,” Stefanik said. “Joe Biden owns this border crisis, and not a single resource for our veterans should be redirected due to this administration’s failure to secure our southern border. Fueling illegal immigration at the expense of our nation’s heroes is a shameful way to govern, but I am proud to sponsor this legislation to stand up for what our veterans rightfully are owed."
Recently, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas confirmed conversations between agency staff to divert Veterans Affairs (VA) resources, doctors, and nurses to help care for illegal immigrants have happened. This follows previous reports of the Biden administration considering what interagency resources could be deployed to deal with surges if Title 42 policies are lifted.
Read full text of the bill, introduced by Congressman Steve Womack (R-AR) here.
