The Biden administration is considering giving Gaza refugees a permanent safe haven in the US with access to housing and a path to citizenship
- The US Refugee Admissions Program could remove some Palestinians from Gaza
- Top Biden officials have discussed resettling some Palestinians
- Family members of U.S. citizens and permanent residents may be considered
The Biden administration is considering allowing some Palestinians to come live in the United States as refugees.
CBS News reported this on Tuesday that senior officials from several federal agencies have discussed how to resettle Palestinians from Gaza, possibly with the help of the United States Refugee Admissions Program.
Those chosen would have to have immediate family members who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
They would have to pass a series of eligibility, medical and security screenings, but could then receive resettlement benefits, including housing assistance and a path to U.S. citizenship.
If the administration follows through with this plan, it would mark a major change in U.S. policy.
President Joe Biden leaves for Wilmington, Delaware, on Tuesday. Top Biden administration officials have discussed bringing Palestinians with American ties to the US through the United States Refugee Admissions Program
Tents housing displaced Palestinians are pictured behind barbed wire in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday. Palestinians with ties to the US would be vetted, but then have access to housing subsidies and a path to US citizenship
The White House, Department of Homeland Security and State Department did not immediately respond to CBS’s request for comment.
Since its inception in 1980, the United States Refugee Admissions Program has not resettled large numbers of Palestinians.
Although the US has admitted 400,000 refugees in the past decade, fewer than 600 have been Palestinians.
Last year, only 56 Palestinians were brought in through this program, with more than 60,000 refugees offered resettlement benefits, according to State Department figures.
The move would keep Palestinian citizens with connections to the United States out of harm’s way as Israel continues to bomb Gaza to eradicate Hamas after the terror group killed more than 1,200 people and took hundreds hostage on October 7.
The move could give Biden a political boost among members of his own party, as left-wing Democrats have pushed the president to do more to stop Israel’s killing of Palestinian civilians.
The war between Israel and Hamas has dramatically divided the Democratic Party — and the large-scale student protests have raised concerns about whether Biden will lose support among young voters unless he does more to help the plight of Palestinians.
An elderly Palestinian woman sits outside her makeshift home in Rafah in the southern part of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday. Palestinians with strong ties to the US may soon be able to apply for resettlement in the United States
Light illuminates the minarets of the al-Taiba Mosque at sunset on Tuesday, in front of the tents of displaced Palestinians in a camp in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip
However, Republicans will likely use the move to criticize Biden, whom they have already hit on immigration and for pursuing an “open borders” policy.
The Biden administration would also need Egypt’s cooperation for the plan to work.
Egypt has so far not allowed large numbers of Palestinians to cross its border.
More aid trucks have been allowed into Gaza in recent days, but experts have warned that the threat of famine in the area is imminent.
Biden urged Israel to open more aid routes after the killing of seven workers from World Central Kitchen, the group founded by Spanish-American celebrity chef Jose Andres.