Senate Republicans are calling on President Biden to shut down the idea of bringing Palestinians from Gaza into the U.S. as refugees, saying it would be tantamount to importing terrorist supporters.
Led by Sen. Joni Ernst, Iowa Republican, the senators said polling shows more than 70% of Gazans believe Hamas’ murderous Oct. 7 sneak attack on Israel was “correct.”
“We demand that your administration cease planning for accepting Gazan refugees until you adequately answer our concerns and focus your attention instead on securing the release of U.S. hostages held by Hamas,” the senators wrote in a letter to Mr. Biden Wednesday.
CBS News reported this week on documents showing an internal discussion among senior Biden officials about using the refugee program to help Gaza Strip residents escape the war between Israel and Hamas, the terrorist group that runs that territory.
CBS reported that one alternative would be to allow Gaza residents who have relatives with ties to the U.S. to be declared refugees. Biden officials are debating whether it would apply to people who have already made it out of Gaza and reached Egypt or whether it would welcome people still in the territory.
The senators said that will make it tough to weed out Hamas supporters or even operatives from the refugee population.
“U.S. and allied officials have very little access to Gazans living in the area, making it nearly impossible to conduct thorough vetting before admitting them into our country,” the senators said. “Without thorough vetting, your administration may inadvertently accept terrorists posing as refugees into the interior.”
The White House, in a statement to CBS, said the U.S. has already helped more than 1,800 American citizens and relatives who were in Gaza flee, and many of them have reached the U.S.