Exclusive: ‘Deeply opposed’: GOP reps urge Biden not to take in Palestinian refugees

Republican lawmakers led by Oklahoma Rep. Josh Brecheen are trying to discourage the Biden administration from taking in Palestinian refugees, according to a Monday letter first obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Democratic New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman has requested that the U.S. take in Palestinian refugees after Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel on Oct. 7, killing, kidnapping and raping hundreds of civilians. The Republicans requested that Biden ask Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees and not abuse his authority to bring in foreign populations, according to the letter, which is signed by Reps. Jeff Duncan of South Carolina, Andy Ogles of Tennessee, and Clay Higgins of Louisiana.

“In light of recent news that members of your party are encouraging Palestinians to be paroled into the United States following Hamas’ attack on innocent Israelis on October 7, 2023, we write to you to remind the administration that no authority exists to grant categorical parole and we are deeply opposed to any potential attempts to parole into the U.S. Palestinians en masse following Israel’s counteroffensive against Hamas in Gaza,” the lawmakers wrote.

“Given concerns of terror attacks in our homeland, it is important as ever that matters are not made worse by attempting to parole Palestinians into our country. This should be obvious considering the DHS OIG report of Operation Allies Refuge which found your claim false that Afghans paroled by your administration ‘already completed extensive background checks,’ and that information from many Afghan refugees like “name, date of birth, identification number, and travel document data, was inaccurate, incomplete or missing,” the lawmakers wrote.

Two former senior homeland security officials, Chad Wolf and Mark Morgan, recently told the DCNF that the U.S. doesn’t have sufficient intelligence sharing with Hamas to vet refugees for terrorism ties. Approximately 57% of people who live in Gaza maintain an opinion of Hamas that is at least “somewhat positive,” according to a recent poll from the Washington Institute.

“At this critical time, our nation must remain committed to defending our homeland. We remind you that you do not have the authority to grant parole en masse as specified under existing U.S. law. We oppose any efforts to parole into the U.S. any Palestinians from Gaza,” the lawmakers wrote.

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