The Department of Veterans Affairs is creating an urgent and extensive internal database of non-U.S. citizens employed by the department, according to documents leaked to The Guardian. The publication said the memo has prompted concern within the agency over a potential immigration crackdown affecting its own employees.
A spokesperson for the department confirmed that the VA would share some of the data it’s gathering with other federal agencies.
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“VA will share any adverse findings with the appropriate agencies to ensure anyone who is not authorized to be in the U.S. is dealt with accordingly,” the spokesperson told The Guardian.
The plan follows similar data-sharing plans the Trump administration has pushed. In April, the IRS announced it would share taxpayer information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Who will be impacted?
Despite the stated goal of targeting unauthorized immigrants, the move could affect thousands of people legally in the country, like permanent residents with green cards and military veterans, The Guardian reported.
The publication also said this could impact veterans themselves. More than a quarter of the VA’s workforce comprises veterans, and citizenship is not a requirement to serve in the U.S. military.
Department officials are requiring VA offices nationwide to turn over information on “non-citizens” working as full and part-time employees, contractors, health professional trainees and volunteers. After collecting the data, the department’s office of operations, security and preparedness will compile a report and present it to VA Secretary Doug Collins by Dec. 30.
The Guardian reports that the VA sent the memo to undersecretaries, assistant secretaries and other key officials.
Why is the VA compiling this list?
VA spokesperson Pete Kasperowicz told the outlet that federal law requires the department to vet all employees and any person affiliated with the VA. He said this is “to ensure they meet the federal government’s trusted workforce standards.”
However, The Guardian noted that the leaked memo makes no mention of any database targeting U.S. citizens working with the VA and only focuses on “non-citizens.” Officials expressed anxiety over the move, believing the Trump administration is about to target the department.
How could this affect the VA?
Nearly half a million people work for the VA and provide health care, education, rehabilitation and other services to millions of veterans. It’s the second-largest federal agency after the Defense Department.
If the list is a precursor to an immigration crackdown, it could impact doctors and nurses working in VA clinics, medical school students completing training at VA hospitals and medical research scientists, according to The Guardian.
While the memo never specifically said the VA would share data with the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, it did state the VA data would be distributed to other federal agencies.
Experts quoted by The Guardian said tracking non-citizen employees could put veteran health care in jeopardy.
“It’s extremely significant — they’re just adding another element to the fear and trepidation people feel when people come to work.,” said Suzanne Gordon, a senior policy analyst at the Veterans Healthcare Policy Institute, a nonprofit that is not affiliated with the VA. “And that’s really bad for patients.”
However, Kasperowicz said the VA wasn’t worried that the tracking database would hurt workforce morale.
“No one who is not an illegal immigrant has anything to worry about,” he said.
