New House GOP bill would enact two-year pause on Palestinian immigration – Washington Examiner

A new bill sponsored by House Republicans would halt the immigration of Palestinians to the United States for two years as part of the latest GOP response to the war between Israel and Hamas.

Introduced by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), the Guarding American Zones Against Palestinian Immigration, or GAZA, Act would halt immigration from the Palestinian Authority to the U.S. Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Mary Miller (R-IL), and Eli Crane (R-AZ) are co-sponsors.

“If Palestinian refugees are too dangerous for our allies in the region, they are certainly too dangerous for the United States,” Gaetz said in a statement. “The Biden administration’s border policies have already exacerbated national security concerns across our country.”

“A two-year moratorium on all immigration from Palestine is a common-sense measure to ensure the safety and security of the American people. We must prioritize the protection of our nation and its citizens above all else,” Gaetz added.

This is the latest Republican action to display solidarity with Israel, which has been locked in a war with Hamas since the terrorist group attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. About 1,200 people were killed in the attacks. The death toll from the war in Gaza has continued to rise since then, with the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry saying that more than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed.

Gaetz’s bill also comes ahead of a joint session of Congress in which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will deliver an address. A date has not been set, but House Democrats are already disgruntled with the plan for him to visit Capitol Hill while the latest ceasefire proposal is on the table.

While House Republicans and most Democrats have denounced the Hamas attack and thrown their support behind Israel, some hard-left House Democrats have called for a permanent ceasefire and criticized Netanyahu’s government for the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. 

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), the only Palestinian American in Congress, has pushed back against similar GOP bills that have targeted Palestinian immigration and is one of the most vocally critical of Netanyahu. She was censured in November last year for “promoting false narratives” about the Oct. 7 attack and allegedly “calling for the destruction of the state of Israel.”

In late January, the House voted 422-2 to pass the No Immigration Benefits for Hamas Terrorists Act, which prevents any person affiliated with Hamas or the Palestine Liberation Organization from entering the U.S. Tlaib and Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) were the sole “no” votes, while Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL) voted present. It has not been voted on in the Senate.

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At the time, Tlaib called the bill “unnecessary” and “just another GOP messaging bill being used to incite anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian, and anti-Muslim hatred that makes communities like ours unsafe.”

The Washington Examiner reached out to Tlaib for comment on Gaetz’s GAZA Act.

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