10 hours ago
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) joined a group of local Republican lawmakers in demanding answers following reports that employees of the 9/11 World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program are being reassigned to other agencies, including U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE).
"It would be bad enough if they just reduced the number. That would be horrible enough," Schumer said Sunday in Midtown East. "But to put them into ICE, a renegade agency that's out of control and desperately needs to be reined in and reformed is a double whammy on the people of New York and the people of America."
On Thursday, Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Long Island) shared a letter he sent to Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., co-signed by several GOP colleagues from the region.
"We also understand that program staff members who are Public Health Service Officers have been temporarily reassigned to immigration enforcement activities and the Indian Health Service, including the Deputy Director of the program," the letter stated.
The letter requests a briefing from Secretary Kennedy "on the steps the administration is taking to strengthen the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP) and to address recent reports that operational challenges are limiting access to care for responders and survivors."
The letter also highlights concerns that some 9/11 responders and survivors have been denied enrollment in the program and have waited over a year for appeals to be processed. "The heroes of 9/11 deserve the same dedication and responsiveness they showed nearly 25 years ago," it states.
In response to Schumer’s comments, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a statement to NBC New York declaring, "Senator Schumer’s claims that World Trade Center Health Program employees have been reassigned to assist in immigration enforcement are FALSE." News 4 has requested clarification from DHS on whether 9/11 WTC health workers are being utilized in any capacity at ICE, enforcement or otherwise, but had not received a response by Sunday evening.
Notably, neither Schumer nor his staff mentioned an "enforcement" role in their statements or press release, unlike Rep. LaLota’s letter to Secretary Kennedy.
According to LaLota’s office, the World Trade Center Health Program serves nearly 140,000 responders and survivors nationwide, with participants in every state and 434 of 435 congressional districts.
NBC New York has also reached out to The White House and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for comment.
