Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Wednesday he will not ask the Department of Veterans Affairs to send staff to the border to help with the expected surge of illegal immigrants, bowing to critics who said the shift would hurt American veterans’ care.
“We are not making that request of the Veterans Affairs Department and the Veterans Affairs Department will not be allocating resources to the border,” the secretary said.
Lawmakers with oversight over the VA said the department had been floating the option of asking for help from the VA as border officials brace to see up to 18,000 illegal immigrants a day.
It’s not just the VA — Mr. Mayorkas said he’s had to reassign Border Patrol agents from the northern border down to the southern border, which he admitted places “a lot of strain” on them and their families.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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