President 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, Mr. Biden said that “many civilians remain in danger” in Gaza 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.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
President 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.
While Mr. 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.
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, Mr. Biden’s national security adviser, said in a statement.
Representative Ryan Zinke of Montana, 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.
Earlier this month, Mr. Biden ordered financial and travel sanctions on four Israeli settlers accused of violent attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank.
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