Hoping to avoid a repeat of the Afghanistan evacuation debacle where thousands of unvetted Afghans were able to enter the U.S. after fleeing Kabul, GOP Reps. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) and Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) have introduced a bill to prevent refugees with Palestinian visas from resettling in the United States.
The “Guaranteeing Aggressors Zero Admission Act” — the GAZA Act — will prevent Joe Biden from issuing any visas to refugees who carry a passport issued by the Palestinian Authority.
We can't let President Biden abuse our parole and visa rules to bring unvetted Palestinians into American communities the way he did with thousands of unvetted Afghans.
I introduced the GAZA Act to protect America’s national security.https://t.co/wPCYFlCNps
— Rep. Tom Tiffany (@RepTiffany) October 14, 2023
“At a time when the threat of terrorism is not only grotesquely on display but being encouraged and justified, it is critical that we do our best to ensure the security of our nation,” Ogles said, according to Newsmax.
After the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, it was revealed that thousands of Afghans — many who may or may not have assisted American forces during the war — weren’t even routinely vetted by the government. Vetting a non-citizen properly can take weeks. But Biden didn’t want to take the time to make sure these new arrivals from Afghanistan were who they said they were.
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“Following the horrific attack by Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists on innocent Israeli civilians, the last thing America ought to do is trust identity documents issued by the radicals that oversee these territories,” Tiffany said in a statement. “We need to put our security at home first and that starts by closing the door to bad actors who might be seeking to enter our country.”
The pair said the bill also takes aim at the Biden administration’s use of the Department of Homeland Security parole channel for Palestinians. Biden used the pipeline to resettle 100,000 Afghans in the aftermath of his 2021 withdrawal from the Asian country. DHS chief Alejandro Mayorkas said in November 2021 that not all of the Afghans were given interviews.
That’s a situation the Republicans are looking to avoid a second time.
“At a time when the threat of terrorism is not only grotesquely on display but being encouraged and justified, it is critical that we do our best to ensure the security of our nation,” Ogles said.
I didn’t agree with Trump’s travel ban because it was far too broadly drawn and excluded far too many people. But I don’t see any choice but to support this bill.
It’s targeted to exclude Gazans — a commonsense measure given what we’ve seen and heard the last week from Gaza residents.
Those who are eager to welcome Gazans to the U.S. are sleepwalking. I don’t trust the vetting process for refugees and neither should they. When you sacrifice thoroughness for speed, it’s too easy for details to fall through the cracks.
Let Gazans go to a third country — Egypt, Lebanon, etc. From there, if they really want to come to the U.S., they can go through regular channels.
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