Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., told Newsmax on Thursday that the Biden administration’s plan to bring some Palestinians over from Gaza as refugees should be blocked because it “will not vet them properly.”
“Zero admittances to those that have a Palestinian passport,” Tiffany said during an appearance on Newsmax’s “The Chris Salcedo Show.” “Why should we let people into our country that have committed acts like happened on Oct. 7 and have consistently shown that they don’t want to live in a civil society?
“I mean, look at their neighbors. Go to Egypt and other Arabic countries. They don’t want to let them in. Why in the world would we do this?”
According to internal government documents obtained by CBS News, the Biden administration is considering bringing certain Palestinians to the United States as refugees.
In recent weeks, senior officials across several federal agencies have reportedly discussed the feasibility of different options to resettle Palestinians from the war-torn region who have immediate family members who are permanent U.S. residents or American citizens, the documents show.
The United States Refugee Admissions Program would be used, under one of the proposals, to admit Palestinians with U.S. ties who have escaped Gaza and managed to enter Egypt.
The interagency planning documents show that top U.S. officials have also floated the idea of admitting additional Palestinians as refugees if they have American relatives.
Tiffany questioned why congressional lawmakers would take the Biden administration at its word when it comes to ensuring none of those admitted are security risks.
“[W]hy would we trust the Biden administration on this?” he asked. “We saw this with Afghanistan in August of 2021, where they abused their parole authority and brought 76,000 people in without vetting them. We know they will not vet them properly. We should not allow people to come in from that part of the world at this point.”
According to the CBS report, Palestinians who meet eligibility requirements and pass medical and security screenings would qualify to enter the U.S. with refugee status, which offers permanent residency and resettlement benefits like housing assistance and a path to citizenship.
