$45M 'Border Operations Budget' Used For Migrant 'Healthcare Costs' Instead
The Department of Homeland Security used operational funds to care for illegals
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The Department of Homeland Security transferred $45 million in operational funds to care for undocumented immigrants following their apprehension at the border, according to data received by The Washington Examiner.
$9 million in operational funding was diverted by the U.S. Border Patrol in the fiscal year 2019 to cover medical screenings and other health-related services for thousands of immigrants.
The money started being transferred by the Border Patrol at the beginning of the fiscal year 2015, the same time record numbers of unaccompanied minors were arriving at the southern border.
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The Border Patrol entered into Medical Services Blanket Purchase Agreement with a contact medical provider in fiscal 2015.
In the agreement, it includes screenings and referrals to specialists for migrants.
Migrant patients who need further medical help were sent to a local medical treatment facility, which was included in the $9 million budget.
In 2019, the millions of dollars transferred went into appointments for more than 4,800 immigrants, but only a third of whom were part of a family unit.
They here then sent to a hospital or medical facility for care between Dec. 22, 2018, and Feb. 24.
Migrant Mother Says She Was Pressured to Storm US Border by Soros-Linked Group | Neon Nettle https://t.co/KVCnXmKY5l
— Mary Ann Mundt (@maryannmundt) March 11, 2019
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According to the Washington Examiner: CBP estimated its agents had spent more than 49,000 hours helping medical trips and watching patients while they are in hospitals during these two months.
The loss of agents working in law enforcement roles is equivalent to the 2,000 hours worked by 25 Border Patrol agents in a year.
Part of the issue for Border Patrol is the need to transport people who arrive in remote regions of the U.S.-Mexico border.
For example, the closest Border Patrol station to Antelope Wells is located 95 miles north in Lordsburg, and all migrants who showed up in Antelope Wells — where just one agent is based — must be transported by border agents to Lordsburg.
Border Patrol facilities are also dealing with infectious disease outbreaks, including scabies at the Lordsburg Station.
In late January, Congress passed a funding bill that gave CBP $415 million for humanitarian relief purposes, which includes medical care, transportation, food, and clothing for migrants in its custody.
Border Patrol is supposed to turn over people to Immigration and Customs Enforcement within 72 hours of taking them in.
In February, we reported U. S. Border Patrol agents apprehended over 150,000 migrants who reportedly crossed between ports of entry during the first part of the Fiscal Year 2019.
The figure consists of 100,000 families and unaccompanied minors
Border Patrol agents apprehended over 50,000 migrants in the third straight month, including many who had crossed the border between ports of entry in December.
