Rep. Debbie Lesko: Biden's COVID vaccine plan – America Last. Why put illegal immigrants ahead of US seniors?
Requests from Gov. Ducey and members of Congress for more vaccines for Arizona fall on deaf ears
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}While thousands of Arizona seniors wait for vaccines, the Biden administration and Democrats in Congress are refusing to prioritize Americans over illegal immigrants for vaccinations and ignoring the threat posed by an influx of illegal immigrants across our southern border.
As requests from Gov. Doug Ducey and members of Congress asking for more vaccines for Arizona fall on deaf ears, Democrats have blocked attempts to ensure Americans are given taxpayer-funded vaccines first, before illegal immigrants, and are enticing immigrants to enter our nation illegally with harmful immigration policies.
Arizona is short on COVID-19 vaccine doses. Meanwhile, we are home to a large number of people in at-risk populations for COVID-19, including seniors and federal employees along our southern border.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Unfortunately, cases and the death toll continue to rise as Arizonans struggle just to schedule their appointments for the first dose of the vaccine. Some sites in Arizona could provide up to 6,000 vaccines per day, but they are limited by the vaccine shortage, and the Biden administration has denied requests for more vaccine doses.
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Ducey wrote a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) urging them to send an extra 300,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine immediately and an extra 300,000 doses per week moving forward. Both Biden’s FEMA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention denied this request.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}I also led a letter with my Arizona Republican colleagues to FEMA in support of the state’s request for further doses, but have yet to receive a response.
While FEMA is denying COVID-19 vaccines to vulnerable Arizonans, the same administration’s Department of Homeland Security has encouraged illegal immigrants to get COVID-19 vaccinations by announcing that they would not be conducting immigration enforcement operations near any vaccination sites.
Biden has signaled that his administration will be operating under an "America Last" mentality that will harm our nation.
In Congress, Democrats refuse to include protections in their relief bill to ensure Americans are prioritized for vaccination over illegal immigrants. Earlier this month, they blocked an amendment in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce to prevent funds in the package from being used to vaccinate illegal immigrants before all Americans are vaccinated.
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The Democrats’ push for illegal immigrants to be vaccinated ahead of American citizens has unfortunately moved beyond rhetoric – it has become a reality. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently announced that some ICE detainees have already received COVID-19 vaccinations. This is an insult to our senior citizens who are scared and struggling just to schedule their first vaccine doses.
Meanwhile, Biden’s executive orders, which incentivize illegal immigration, make the situation even worse. Border Patrol agents have already reported an uptick in border apprehensions since Biden took office. Large groups of illegal immigrants crossing our southern border pose a risk to further spreading the virus in the same communities in Arizona that cannot get their hands on a vaccine.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}This administration has required international travelers to present a negative COVID-19 test before entering the U.S., but remains silent when it comes to caravans of illegal immigrants.
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The Biden administration needs to get its priorities straight. Seniors in Arizona and people across the nation are suffering during this pandemic. Yet, the administration has put politics over science by not prioritizing vaccinations for the most at-risk American citizens.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Biden has signaled that his administration will be operating under an "America Last" mentality that will harm our nation. It is my sincerest hope that Arizona receives more vaccine doses soon, and that the current administration reverses its course and puts vulnerable Americans first.