- The conflict between Israel and Hamas could spur a wave of new refugees.
- Republicans are quickly touting their opposition to accepting them, including via legislation.
The conflict between Israel and Hamas has only been raging for 10 days, but Republicans are already preemptively declaring that they oppose accepting Palestinian refugees.
Republican Reps. Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin and Andy Ogles of Tennessee — both members of the hardline House Freedom Caucus — introduced a bill on Friday that would bar anyone who holds a passport issued by the Palestinian Authority from entering the United States.
Entitled the "GAZA Act" — which stands for "Guaranteeing Aggressors Zero Admission" — the bill purports to block "bad actors who might be seeking to enter our country," according to a statement from Tiffany.
"The last thing America ought to do is trust identity documents issued by the radicals that oversee these territories," said Tiffany.
While large numbers of Palestinians — up to 1.1 million — have been ordered by Israel to evacuate towards the southern portion of the territory, there is not yet any significant outflow of refugees from the region. Furthermore, Israel has yet to launch its expected ground invasion of the territory.
But in recent days, lawmakers in both the House and Senate — and at least one GOP presidential candidate — have all argued nonetheless that Palestinian refugees are not welcome.
"No Gaza refugees in the United States," Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida wrote on Twitter on Monday.
—Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) October 16, 2023
Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona claimed on Twitter that Democrats are pushing to "take in a million Palestinian refugees," calling the notion "absurd."
Democrats writ large have not discussed the prospect of accepting refugees from Palestine, aside from some progressive lawmakers.
Biggs may have been referring to a sensationalized headline from the New York Post, entitled "Progressives call for US to take in some of the expected 1 million Gaza refugees."
The Post claimed that "a million refugees might flee the Gaza Strip" before citing a statement from Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York arguing that the US should "be prepared to welcome refugees from Palestine while being very careful to vet and not allow members of Hamas."
—Rep Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) October 16, 2023
Several Republican senators also provided statements for that same New York Post story, each stating their opposition to accepting refugees.
"Iran should take responsibility for any Palestinian refugees caused by its proxy... war with Israel," Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas told the outlet, alluding to the country's support for Hamas. "Iran is responsible for the death and destruction — it should be responsible for refugees as well."
Some Republicans have argued not just that the US doesn't have the capacity for more refugees, but that the Palestinian refugees themselves are undesirable. They have pointed to the fact that Hamas, the terrorist organization that governs the Gaza strip, won a plurality of the vote during legislative elections in 2006.
At a recent campaign event in Iowa, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that the US should not accept Palestinian refugees because "they are all anti-Semitic."
—Veronica Stracqualursi (@VeronicaStrac) October 14, 2023
However, Hamas has prevented elections from being held since then, and polling has indicated dissatisfaction with the group among Gaza residents.
Republicans have long been opposed to resettling large amounts of refugees in the US, particularly those from the Islamic world.
Following the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, most US states — led by those with Republican governors — banned Syrian refugees from resettling within their bounds, citing fears of terrorism.
And efforts to provide a pathway to permanent residency for Afghan refugees who assisted the US during the 20-year war in Afghanistan have stalled amid Republican opposition.