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FACT BRIEF

Do President Joe Biden and U.S. Senate candidate Ruben Gallego support giving ‘veteran health services’ to undocumented immigrants?

By Carmela Guaglianone
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NO

Neither Biden nor Gallego has indicated support for reallocating health care resources for  veterans to undocumented immigrants. 

A prior tweet from Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake suggests the claim is referring to an agreement between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Under the agreement, reached more than two decades ago, the VA’s financial services team processes medical and dental claims for services provided to detained immigrants by the ICE Health Service Corps, funded by ICE. The VA receives compensation for labor, administration and fees associated with processing the claims and makes a profit. 

President Biden separately announced plans to make recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program eligible for federal health care coverage. That would not give DACA recipients access to government-funded, veteran-specific health care services.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
X (Formerly Twitter) Tweet Kari Lake Dec 4, 2023
US Department of Homeland Security Healthcare Costs for Noncitizens in Detention
House Committee on Veterans Affairs Chairwoman Kiggans Delivers Opening Remarks at Oversight Hearing on VA Revolving Funds
White House Fact Sheet: Biden-Harris Administration Expands Health Coverage to DACA Recipients
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Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting
The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is the state’s only independent, nonpartisan and collaborative nonprofit newsroom dedicated to statewide, data-driven investigative reporting. AZCIR's mission is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable by exposing injustice and systemic inequities through investigative journalism.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.