Sens. J.D. Vance (R-OH), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Rick Scott (R-FL) sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Thursday, demanding that he not grant protected status to Palestinian refugees, arguing it would serve as a “magnet for migration.”
Vance, Rubio, Lee, and Scott sent their letter to Biden as leftist Democrats such as Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) call on the 46th president to offer Palestinians living in the United States Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
As Breitbart News immigration reporter John Binder has noted, this would ensure that these Palestinian refugees cannot be deported under most circumstances.
The four Senate Republicans called on Biden not to provide these potential refugees TPS or Deferred Enforced Departure (DED).
Letter to Biden Gaza TPS by Breitbart News on Scribd
The conservatives demanded avoiding these actions to protect the lives of American citizens:
As you know, DED and TPS make it more difficult to remove eligible foreign nationals from our country. In light of the ongoing armed conflict in the Gaza Strip, and related domestic protests by foreign nationals from the region, Palestinian aliens should not be incentivized to travel to, or remain in, the United States. We ask that you remember your oath to protect the lives of American citizens and not import a population of potentially radicalized individuals into the United States.
Vance, Rubio, Lee, and Scott said that granting Palestinians TPS would create yet another pipeline for migration into the United States:
It is safe to assume that some of these rioters are in our country legally as guests, under one of the many provisions of the INA [Immigration and Nationality Act] that allow aliens into the United States on a non-permanent basis. It is also possible that some of them are in our country illegally. Granting violent protesters DED, knowing many have expressed sympathy for a designated foreign terrorist organization, would be a cataclysmic mistake. Such an order would prolong the presence of these aliens, giving them more time for intimidation, violence, and destruction. Additionally, designating the Palestinian territories for TPS would create a magnet for migration, drawing Palestinians into the United States with the promise of potential legal status. Such a designation would allow any Palestinian already here to stay for an extended period. [Emphasis added]
This would not be the first time the Biden administration has resettled immigrants from dangerous parts of the world.
Binder explained:
Following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Biden used his administration’s parole pipeline to resettle nearly 100,000 Afghans across American communities — many of whom were not interviewed in person beforehand and who were found to be linked to terrorism.
As Breitbart News reported, in Fiscal Year 2022 alone, Biden’s DHS gave green cards to about 63,000 legal immigrants to permanently resettle in the U.S. who arrived from countries previously included in a national travel ban list due to their involvement with terrorism.
The lawmakers cited how bringing Palestinian refugees to Denmark led to higher crime and welfare dependency:
We need only look at Denmark for an example of how Palestinian migration can harm a host country. In 1992, 321 Palestinians were granted residence permits by the Danish government. An August 2020 Danish government survey revealed that, 27 years after Palestinian refugees had been granted residence, a quarter of the 270 original Palestinians still in Denmark had gone to prison, half had been charged fines or other penalties, and two-thirds were on public welfare. The number of Palestinians who would move to or remain in the United States following a grant of DED or TPS would be far larger, multiplying the burden on our police and social services—not to mention the threat to the public order.
“For the sake of our fellow American citizens, we ask that you continue your policy of not providing DED and TPS to Palestinian migrants and instead identify and close any vectors for Palestinian migration to the United States,” Vance, Rubio, Lee, and Scott concluded in their letter to Biden. “In our humble opinion, we should be finding ways to reduce the number of terrorist sympathizers in America, not increase them.”
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.
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