The Biden administration is asking US Department of Agriculture employees to abandon their day jobs and volunteer for months-long stints at the US-Mexico border, despite repeatedly insisting that the influx of unaccompanied minors has not reached ‘crisis’ levels. The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) offered employees an ‘informational unaccompanied minors’ session last week ‘to learn more about volunteer detail opportunities for employees’, according to an email obtained by The Spectator. Volunteers would be responsible for working directly with migrant children to interview them for their legal cases and help connect them with adult sponsors residing in the United States.‘These are children in need and government employees now have an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of these children, families and communities impacted by this migration,’ Terry Cosby, acting chief of the NRCS, wrote in the email, dated April 22. ‘I urge you to seriously consider answering this call to service to make a difference.’ The Department of Agriculture confirmed to The Spectator that they will be sending 500 employees to the border as part of the volunteer program, which is being conducted by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The USDA said that the temporary loss of these staffers would not affect day-to-day operations. ‘Those who are accepted to volunteer will work with their supervisors to ensure their duties are assigned to other staff for the duration of the volunteer assignment ensuring continuity of service; some will perform a portion of their duties remotely,’ the USDA said in a statement. ‘We expect no disruption in service to our customers while we answer the call to assist with this critical humanitarian effort. USDA’s total commitment will be approximately 500 staff from a pool of 100,000+ total USDA workers.’...MORE
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