Biden provides shield to Palestinians in the U.S. from deportation
HEALDSBURG, CALIF. >> President Joe Biden on Wednesday shielded thousands of Palestinians in the United States from deportation for the next 18 months, using an obscure immigration authority as he faces mounting criticism over U.S. support for Israel in the Gaza war.
About 6,000 Palestinians are eligible for the reprieve under a program called Deferred Enforced Departure, which allows immigrants whose homelands are in crisis to remain in the United States and work legally.
In a memo obtained by The New York Times, Biden said that “many civilians remain in danger” in the Gaza Strip after the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas.
“Therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Palestinians who are present in the United States,” he said.
The decision comes as Biden faces pressure over the war, particularly among Arab Americans who were once a reliable constituency for him.
While Biden's criticism of the war has grown more forceful since the Oct. 7 attack, the United States has not signaled that it plans major policy changes such as putting conditions on billions of dollars in military aid to Israel.
Israel's war against Hamas has killed more than 28,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry. Much of Gaza has been left in ruins as Israel bombards the territory in retaliation for the attacks on Oct. 7, when Hamas killed more than 1,200 people in Israel.
Abed Ayoub, the executive director of the American-Arab
Anti-Discrimination Committee, praised the decision to exempt Palestinians from deportation.
“There is a desperate need for this,” he said. “We see the situation in Gaza and Palestine is not getting better, and this is something that is welcome, and we are glad to see it implemented. We hope other measures can come into place.”
There are some exemptions to Biden's order. Palestinians who have been convicted of felonies or those “who are otherwise deemed to pose a public safety threat” would not be protected from deportation, Jake Sullivan, Biden's national security adviser, said in a statement.
Some Republicans, have pushed for a crackdown on Palestinians. Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., a former Trump administration official, introduced legislation in November that would have revoked visas from Palestinians and prevented them from receiving refugee status or asylum in the United States.
Biden's decision to shield Palestinians from deportation has been in the works for some time. More than 100 staff members at the Department of Homeland Security signed an open letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in the fall, saying the agency should extend some protections to Palestinians.
The lawmakers said the population should be covered under Deferred Enforced Departure or a similar program known as Temporary Protected Status, which has been used to help people from Venezuela, Afghanistan, Ukraine and elsewhere.