Fox’s first appearance: Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) led a group of Republican senators in calling on President Biden to cancel the U.S. plan to accept Palestinian refugees from Gaza.
“Until your administration adequately addresses our concerns and instead focuses on securing the release of American hostages held by Hamas, we will continue to support Gaza refugees,” Ernst wrote in a letter to Biden on Wednesday evening. We request that the plan to accept the children be cancelled.”
The letter includes Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Minority Leader John Thune of South Dakota, Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso of Wyoming, and National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman of Montana. Thirty-four Republican senators, including Steve Daines, signed it.
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Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) led 33 other Republicans in submitting a letter to President Biden calling for an end to the Gaza refugee program. (Getty Images)
The response was prompted by a CBS News report that the Biden administration is considering allowing some Palestinian refugees from Gaza to enter the United States as refugees.
Officials from several agencies in the Biden administration have been discussing several possible plans for resettling in Gaza some Palestinians whose families are either U.S. citizens or permanent residents of Gaza, according to reports. It has been discussed for a long time.
The White House did not directly confirm the CBS report in response to a request from Fox News Digital.
“Since the conflict began, the United States has helped more than 1,800 American citizens and their families flee Gaza, many of whom have come to the United States. At President Biden’s direction, we have also helped Especially vulnerable people, such as children with serious health problems or those undergoing treatment for cancer, can escape danger and receive treatment at a nearby hospital in their community. “We have received a response,” the White House press secretary told Fox News Digital in a statement.
“The United States also remains the largest contributor of humanitarian aid to Gaza to address the dire situation, and we are working hard to get more urgently needed aid to more people as quickly as possible.” “We are working on it,” the spokesperson continued. “We have also been clear and consistent: The United States categorically rejects any action that leads to the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank, or the redrawing of Gaza’s borders. The best path forward is “Achieving a sustainable ceasefire” through hostage trading would stabilize the situation and pave the way for a two-state solution. ”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre did not respond to reporters’ questions Wednesday about how many Palestinians the administration plans to relocate or whether the U.S. will help physically remove them from Gaza. .
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Ernst’s letter was signed by 33 Republican senators, including party leaders Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Minority Leader John Thune and Conference Chairman John Barrasso. (Getty Images)
Fox News confirmed with a State Department official that even if Gaza refugees with U.S. citizen relatives were granted visas, it would not be under a “new program” and would not represent a change in policy. The official further confirmed that such a move is essentially an extension of existing policies towards Palestinians in the region.
Republican senators detailed that they had “no confidence” in the Biden administration’s ability to “adequately screen these high-risk nationals for terrorist ties or sympathies before allowing them to enter the United States.” .
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This comes after anti-Israel protests have occurred in the past two weeks at 47 of the nation’s top 50 universities, as ranked by U.S. News & World Report in 2024. At the same time, several protests were met with anti-Semitic threats and vandalism, with some turning violent.
In New York, about 300 people were arrested between April 30 and May 1 at Columbia University and City College, whose buildings were occupied by protesters.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and other Republicans criticized President Biden, arguing that his treatment of anti-Israel rioters has given them preferential treatment over U.S. ally Israel. (Getty Images)
The lawmakers said the United States and its allies have “very little access” to Gazans in the region, making it “nearly impossible to thoroughly screen Gazans before they enter our country.” ” he pointed out.
The senators said a thorough vetting process is increasingly important “given the fact that it was Gazans who elected Hamas to power in 2006.”
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Ernst and his Republican colleagues added that the issue of allowing terrorists into the country is not a “what-if question,” noting that in fiscal year 2023 alone, 169 people on the FBI’s terrorist watch list will cross the U.S. southern border. Pointed out the encounter between American ports. entry.
Republicans cited people on a terrorist watch list who were arrested at the southern border last year. (James Breeden, New York Post/Mega)
“Isn’t our first duty to rescue our own people, not the Gazans,” the senators said, renewing their call for Biden to focus on American hostages.
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It also asked Biden how many refugees he wants to take in and how his administration will “put in place vetting mechanisms to ensure that no one with terrorist ties or sympathies will be admitted to the United States as refugees.” We asked them to answer whether they would do so.
The State Department had no immediate comment to Fox News Digital regarding the report or the Republican senators’ request.
FOX News’ Gillian Turner contributed to this report.
