The White House is reportedly considering accepting Palestinians from Gaza as refugees in light of Israel’s conflict with Hamas, according to internal federal documents obtained by CBS News. Senior officials in the Biden administration and U.S. agencies have discussed the possibility of resettling Palestinians from Gaza who have immediate family members who are American citizens or permanent residents.
The documents suggest that welcoming Palestinians under the United States Refugee Admissions Program is being considered as a way to bring individuals from war-torn Gaza into the country. Top U.S. officials have also explored the idea of evacuating additional Palestinians from Gaza and processing them as refugees if they have American relatives. This plan would require coordination with Egypt, which has thus far refused to accept large numbers of people from Gaza.
Before being granted access to the United States, potential refugees would need to undergo various security and medical screenings. Benefits associated with refugee resettlement in the U.S. include permanent residency, housing assistance, and a path to American citizenship.
It is estimated that as many as 34,000 Palestinians have died in the Gaza conflict, with hundreds of thousands displaced from their homes. While neighboring countries like Egypt have declined to accept refugees, the U.S. is considering changing its policy on resettling Palestinians as refugees.
The Department of Homeland Security and the State Department have yet to comment on the report regarding the U.S. potentially accepting Palestinian refugees.
This move would signal a departure from past U.S. government practices, as the country has historically resettled very few Palestinians through the refugee program. In the past decade, only a small number of Palestinian refugees have been resettled in the U.S., with State Department statistics showing that they made up less than 1% of refugees welcomed in fiscal year 2023.
