President Joe Biden and his administration have been bending over backwards to show concern for Gaza as the Israel-Hamas war rages on after Hamas terrorists perpetrated an attack against our ally in the Middle East on October 7. Biden hasn't merely insisted on humanitarian aid or on a two-state solution, but he's made it a focal point, and is even willing to put American troops in harm's way to get that aid delivered. His administration looks to be taking that even further, though, considering what CBS News revealed on Tuesday night.
"The Biden administration is considering bringing certain Palestinians to the U.S. as refugees, a move that would offer a permanent safe haven to some of those fleeing war-torn Gaza, according to internal federal government documents obtained by CBS News," the report began by mentioning, with added emphasis.
The report mentions further details, including how discussions have been going on for weeks and that these "refugees" could actually receive benefits:
In recent weeks, the documents show, senior officials across several federal U.S. agencies have discussed the practicality of different options to resettle Palestinians from Gaza who have immediate family members who are American citizens or permanent residents.
One of those proposals involves using the decades-old United States Refugee Admissions Program to welcome Palestinians with U.S. ties who have managed to escape Gaza and enter neighboring Egypt, according to the inter-agency planning documents.
Top U.S. officials have also discussed getting additional Palestinians out of Gaza and processing them as refugees if they have American relatives, the documents show. The plans would require coordination with Egypt, which has so far refused to welcome large numbers of people from Gaza.
Those who pass a series of eligibility, medical and security screenings would qualify to fly to the U.S. with refugee status, which offers beneficiaries permanent residency, resettlement benefits like housing assistance and a path to American citizenship.
That such people would have a connection to "American citizens or permanent residents" is hardly a relief, given that earlier this month activists in Dearborn, Michigan could be heard chanting "death to America," and "death to Israel," as well as genocidal and pro-Hamas phrases such as "from the river to the sea" and "free, free Palestine."
When confronted about those chants by Fox News' Jacqui Heinrich, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), whose district includes Dearborn, refused to denounce the chants or even speak to them at all, instead insisting Fox News was using "racist troupes" and is "Islamophobic." Tlaib herself has previously defended the use of "from the river to the sea" in Dearborn, which was one of the reasons she was censured by the House last November.
A "path to American citizenship" would also mean that these people would get to vote, likely one more tactic of how Biden is looking to gain support from the far-left, anti-Israel part of the Democratic Party.
The Biden administration would thus not just be bringing over future potential Democratic voters, but be bringing over ones who are among a population that we know supports Hamas and their attack against our ally in the Middle East.
In response to the CBS News report, Katie called to mind how a survey from last December by the Palestinian Center for Policy Survey and Research (PCPSR) found that 72 percent of Palestinian respondents, which included those from Gaza and the West Bank, believed that Hamas' attack on October 7 was "correct."
While the CBS News report mentions that the current conflict came after that October 7 attack, and that there are still hostages being held in captivity, this doesn't come until later in the piece. Such a mention even tellingly comes after the report uses figures that Hamas has used as propaganda.
"While the eligible population is expected to be relatively small, the plans being discussed by U.S. officials could offer a lifeline to some Palestinians fleeing the Israel-Hamas war, which local public health authorities say has claimed the lives of more than 34,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians in Gaza," the report mentions. These unnamed "local public health authorities" are allied with Hamas, with the terrorists having acknowledged weeks ago they inflated the count, though there's been evidence even before that the numbers were propaganda.
The CBS News report also highlights how extreme the Biden administration is in its support for Gaza. "The proposals to resettle certain Palestinians as refugees would mark a shift in longstanding U.S. government policy and practice. Since its inception in 1980, the U.S. refugee program has not resettled Palestinians in large numbers," it reads. That it "would mark a shift" is putting it politely.
Reaction has been swift and severe, with CBS News' X post already earning 1,300 replies and 540 quoted reposts in the less than five hours since it's been up.
Many of the reactions pointed to how neighboring Middle Eastern countries should instead be called upon to take them in.