by Eric Lendrum
Volunteers who served at a detention facility for underaged illegal aliens blew the whistle on Wednesday about an alleged plot to cover up the true number of cases of coronavirus among the detainees after an outbreak, as reported by the New York Post.
The claims were made in a filing by the Government Accountability Project, a nonprofit watchdog group; the two whistleblowers were Arthur Pearlstein and Lauren Reinhold, described by the filing as “career federal civil servants” who had been volunteering at the detention facility in Fort Bliss, Texas from the months of April to June.
According to the filing, “COVID was widespread among children and eventually spread to many employees,” infecting “hundreds” of children. However, when volunteers were brief on the situation at a meeting by a senior official at the U.S. Public Health Service, they were told that “if that graph” depicting the number of infections “is going to The Washington Post every day, it’s the only thing we’ll be dealing with and politics will take over, perception will take over, and we’re about reality, not perception.”
In addition to the deliberate cover-up, the whistleblowers also claimed that there was “significant waste, fraud, and abuse” at the facility, after the federal authorities delegated most operational control to private contractors. Complaints raised internally at the time were “ignored or rejected.” Pearlstein alleges that when he suggested going out to purchase supplies for the illegals such as underwear, shoes, and socks, a federal manager responded with “I don’t have time for this sh**.” This led to volunteers ultimately spending hundreds of dollars out of pocket for such supplies, as well as luxuries such as books and games.
The complaint was submitted to four different congressional committees, as well as to the Inspector General of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Office of Special Counsel.
In a statement responding to the allegations, an HHS spokesperson said that “the care and well-being of children in our custody continues to be a top priority for HHS…It remains our policy to swiftly report any alleged instances of wrongdoing to the appropriate authorities.”
These allegations reflect just one more burden caused by the surge in illegal immigration since Joe Biden first came to power, after promising illegals on the campaign trail that, as president, he would provide them with amnesty and taxpayer-funded benefits such as healthcare and education. In the over six months since his inauguration, the United States has seen a record number of illegals pouring across the southern border, and largely being allowed in with no enforcement of the law or basic measures taken to combat the sicknesses that they carry with them.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that a significant number of illegals who tested positive for the coronavirus are being housed at a hotel rented out by a Catholic charity in La Joya, Texas, with the illegals being free to roam around the town and risk infecting American citizens.
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Eric Lendrum reports for American Greatness.
