The potential entrants would need to have close family already in the country and pass medical and security checks as well.
By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News
The U.S. government is mulling the idea of granting refugee status to a limited number of Gazans, CBS News reported Tuesday.
The media outlet cited federal documents it had obtained in which various government agencies have proposed methods to admit Gazans who have immediate relatives who are either American citizens or permanent residents.
The exact number of Palestinian Americans is unknown, with some estimates in the 200,000 range.
Until this year, MENA (Middle East/North Africa) was not a category listed in the U.S. census for “heritage.”
One idea was to use the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program for those eligible Palestinians who have managed to cross into Egypt clandestinely.
Cairo has refused to allow masses of Gazans into their country to flee the Israel-Hamas war. Any loosening of its rules to accommodate the proposed change in American policy would thus have to be coordinated with the Egyptians, the report said.
Since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7 following the terrorists’ massacre of 1,200 people and abduction of 253 in a surprise invasion, very few Gazans have gained entry to the U.S.
They all seem to fall into the category now being considered, as a White House spokesperson told the news outlet that “Since the beginning of the conflict, the United States has helped more than 1,800 American citizens and their families leave Gaza, many of whom have come to the United States.”
The spokesperson seemed to stress that anyone who comes would have to do so voluntarily, saying, “The United States categorically rejects any actions leading to the forced relocation of Palestinians from Gaza.”
Having close family in the U.S. is not the sole criteria being considered, according to the report. The refugees would still have to pass medical and security tests to get into the country and onto the path of citizenship.
The security screening would hopefully ensure that Hamas terrorists do not manage to slip into the U.S. undetected.
The danger of this happening anyway was too much for Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC).
“Hogwash,” the legislator posted to X early Wednesday morning. “President Biden consistently undermines our national security with reckless decisions like this. We have no clue who is coming into our country, whether on our southern border or from war-torn regions run by terrorists.”
“Not a single Hamas sympathizer should be let into this country,” he added, “and I will use every resource at my disposal to ensure this radical Biden policy never sees the light of day.”