A group of Republican senators on Wednesday called on President Biden to focus his attention on freeing hostages being held by Hamas and not a potential plan to let Gazan refugees into the US.
In a letter to the president, 35 GOP senators, led by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), warned that the reported plan to resettle some Palestinians on US soil “poses a national security risk.”
“We are not confident that your administration can adequately vet this high-risk population for terrorist ties and sympathies before admitting them into the United States,” the senators wrote, noting that the US has had very limited access to Gazans since the outbreak of the war, which would make it “it nearly impossible to conduct thorough vetting.”
“We are also frustrated that your administration is pushing ahead with a plan to evacuate Gazans from the Strip when there are still American citizens held hostage by Hamas,” the letter continued.
“We demand that your administration cease planning for accepting Gazan refugees until you adequately answer our concerns and focus your attention instead on securing the release of US hostages held by Hamas.”
Senior Biden administration officials in several agencies have been exploring possible avenues to accept a small number of Gazans — including some who fled the Palestinian enclave into Egypt to escape the fighting, as well as others with family in the US, CBS News reported Tuesday evening.
The White House has refused to confirm or deny the report.
“We’re always looking at every option,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday when asked about the possible plan.
The senators also expressed concern that the plan would flood Egypt with refugees seeking to ultimately be taken to the US, exacerbating an already tense situation on Egypt’s border with the Gaza Strip.
“Egypt is already concerned that the ongoing conflict may cause a surge in the number of Gazans trying to cross into the Sinai Peninsula illegally,” they wrote. As such, Cairo has restricted its border with Gaza, limiting the number of Gazans entering Egypt.”
“We are worried that if the United States institutes a large-scale refugee policy for Gazans, they may swarm the Egypt-Gaza border in the hopes of leaving for America.”
Ernst and her colleagues further told Biden they are “confused” why his administration appears willing to accept Gazan refugees when “even nearby Arab countries supportive of the Palestinian cause refuse to take them in due to security concerns.”
“Our first obligation should be to rescue our own citizens, not Gazans,” the lawmakers argued.
The letter concludes with questions for the 81-year-old president, including how many Gazan refugees he seeks to accept, how the screening process would work, and whether his administration has consulted with regional partners about the proposed plan.
About 130 hostages, including five US citizens, are still being held captive by Hamas, nearly seven months into the war.
