As Palestinians and pro-Hamas supporters continue to call for the death of Jews, the annihilation of Israel, and commit antisemitic attacks across the country, President Joe Biden is expanding measures to prevent “certain Palestinians” from being deported.
In a presidential memo, he directed the secretaries of State and Homeland Security to implement several policies, citing deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Gaza.
Biden said he has determined “it is in the foreign policy interest of the United States to defer for 18 months the removal of any Palestinian subject” in the U.S. with some exceptions.
In the memo, he directs Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who was impeached by the U.S. House this week on two counts of high crimes and misdemeanors, to implement the deportation deferment policy. This is after Mayorkas already implemented more than a dozen parole programs the House Committee on Homeland Security identified as illegal and as evidence to support his impeachment.
The memo states that no Palestinian non-U.S. citizen in the country may be deported for 18 months unless they are deemed inadmissible under federal immigration law, a criteria Mayorkas already changed in a parole program for which he was sued.
The deportation moratorium does not apply to Palestinians convicted of a felony or two or more misdemeanors in the U.S., or those already subject to extradition, those whose presence Mayorkas has determined presents a danger to public safety, or who the Secretary of State “has reasonable grounds to believe would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”
Biden also directed Mayorkas to authorize employment permits for Palestinian “noncitizens whose removal has been deferred” and “to consider suspending regulatory requirements with respect to F-1 nonimmigrant students who are Palestinians” he deems is appropriate, potentially including pro-Hamas students in the U.S. on visas.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza began after the terrorist organization Hamas attacked Israel, killing hundreds, and Israel responded. Hamas has been documented to store weapons and munitions in hospitals and schools and has prevented food and water from reaching civilians, according to multiple news reports.
The agency responsible for providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, recently denied knowing that Hamas established intelligence operations directly below and in its headquarters in Gaza. Israeli Security Agency operatives recently raided UNRWA’s headquarters and found large quantities of weapons, rifles, ammunition, grenades and explosives in its offices, as well as a 700-meter long and 18-meter deep tunnel below, the Times of Israel reported.
Since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, Hamas has been refusing to share fuel with hospitals, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Congress. The current Palestinian death toll of mostly women and children is more than 28,000, according to the United Nations.
As the conflict continues between Israel and Hamas, pro-Palestinian and pro-Hamas groups throughout the United States and on college campuses have called for the annihilation of Israel. Antisemitic attacks in the name of “free Palestine” continue to occur, having increased by 360% since Oct. 7, The Center Square reported. That’s after antisemitic incidents were already at historic highs in the U.S., primarily in the southwest, The Center Square reported last fall.
While Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, both Republicans, have called for cancelling visas and immediately removing foreign nationals from the U.S. who support Hamas, Senate Democrats blocked any efforts to do last fall.
Biden’s memo was issued after roughly 100 Democratic members of Congress called on him to grant Temporary Protected Status and/or authorize Deferred Enforced Departure for Palestinian noncitizens living in the U.S.
According to 2022 Department of State data, 7,241 nonimmigrant visas were issued to individuals holding Palestinian Authority (PA) travel documents.
