Some Republicans have come out in opposition to progressive calls for the United States to admit refugees from Gaza amid the Israel–Hamas war.
U.S. lawmakers appear split over calls for the United States to accept refugees from Gaza displaced by the Israel–Hamas war, as experts are predicting that a million individuals might flee the region.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), a member of the left-wing “Squad” in Congress, was cited by the New York Post as calling for the United States to “welcome refugees from Palestine,” while Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) has introduced legislation that would block people with Palestinian passports from being admitted into the country.
“We can’t let President Biden abuse our parole and visa rules to bring unvetted Palestinians into American communities the way he did with thousands of unvetted Afghans,” Mr. Tiffany said in a statement posted on X, referring to the Biden administration’s decision to let 76,000 unvetted Afghan refugees come to the United States following the U.S. withdrawal and Taliban takeover of the country.
“I introduced the GAZA Act to protect America’s national security,” Mr. Tiffany added, with the lawmaker sharing the contents of the Guaranteeing Aggressors Zero Admission (GAZA) Act exclusively with Breitbart.
The proposal would block the Biden administration’s use of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) parole mechanism from letting Palestinians settle in the United States, according to the text of the measure, as cited by Breitbart.
While Mr. Bowman has called for the admission of Gaza refugees to the United States, he said that they should be vetted prior to being allowed in.
“Fifty percent of the population in Gaza are children,” he said. “The international community as well as the United States should be prepared to welcome refugees from Palestine while being very careful to vet and not allow members of Hamas.”
Like Mr. Tiffany, other Republicans have expressed opposition to opening the door to Gaza refugees.
By Tom Ozimek
