Schiff Says VA’s Collection Of Non‑Citizen Employee Data Risks 'Instilling Fear'

Senator Adam Schiff has raised concerns in a letter to the Departments of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Homeland Security (DHS) after The Guardian reported the VA was compiling records on its "non-citizen" workforce.

The Guardian's report said the VA told the outlet some of the information could be shared with other agencies for immigration enforcement. The story cited a leaked internal memo describing a broad data-collection effort covering all non-citizens who are "employed or affiliated with" the agency — a system that employs roughly 450,000 people and maintains ties to most major U.S. medical schools.

Veteran advocates and members of Congress warned the memo's language appears to extend beyond direct VA employees and could include contractors, medical trainees and volunteers, raising concerns about potential disruption to care.

According to the leaked memo, a report was to be presented to VA leadership, including Secretary Douglas Collins, on 30 December. Congressional sources familiar with the VA's internal operations say the current status of that report is unclear.

“The request for non-citizen data can be viewed only as a thinly veiled effort to instill fear within the VA community, which will likely be used to conduct immigration enforcement efforts,” Schiff wrote in his letter. “These intimidation tactics waste critical time and resources for VA personnel that are already stretched thin.”

Schiff's letter is the second formal demand from lawmakers seeking answers. In December, more than 50 members of the House and Senate, led by Representative Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), asked the VA to produce "data, records, documents, reports, memoranda, correspondence, audio recordings" and any records of collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

VA Secretary Collins replied on 13 January with a brief defense, calling the effort a standard "workforce review" and a compliance exercise that does not change veterans' eligibility for care or divert resources from patient care.

“The workforce review at issue is not new, not extraordinary, and not ideological,” Collins wrote. “This effort does not alter Veterans’ eligibility for care or benefits, nor does it divert resources from patient care. It is a compliance exercise.”

A spokesperson for Senator Schiff said his follow-up was prompted because the VA "failed to explain why the agency is targeting employees and those affiliated with VA care who have already been vetted." The VA has not clarified why the review is focused solely on non-citizens or whether a similar review of citizens is planned.

The VA has struggled with staffing shortages for several years, a problem that intensified during the current administration. In August, The Guardian reported the VA had lost thousands of core medical staff — including doctors, nurses and psychologists — since the start of the year, and the VA inspector general found "severe" staffing shortages at each of the agency's 170 medical centers. The VA serves roughly 9 million veterans annually.

Since The Guardian's initial report, the VA has defended the review publicly. In a December appearance on Fox News, Collins dismissed the coverage as manufactured outrage and described the operation as an effort to update personnel rolls and background checks.

Schiff reiterated that existing background and vetting procedures apply regardless of citizenship or immigration status and said singling out non-citizens risks undermining morale and distracting from patient care while the VA addresses persistent staffing challenges.