Experts predict a million refugees might flee the Gaza Strip amid the war between Israel and Hamas, and socialists and far-left lawmakers said America should welcome them.
“Fifty percent of the population in Gaza are children. The international community as well as the United States should be prepared to welcome refugees from Palestine while being very careful to vet and not allow members of Hamas,” said Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a New York member of the Socialist-Democratic “Squad” who remains under investigation for pulling a fire alarm in the House Cannon Office Building earlier this month.
But Republicans have already slammed the door shut on the issue.
Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said they would oppose Palestinian resettlement efforts here.
“The U.S. is the most generous nation in the world, but we are in no position to accept additional refugees, especially from a region with as high a risk of terrorism, given our nation’s inability to secure our own border or vet those who are already here,” Rubio told The Post.
Scott added that “the entire focus of the United States right now should be on rescuing American hostages, and making sure that Israel has every resource needed to defeat Iran backed-Hamas and defend its homeland.”
Cotton said “Iran should take responsibility for any Palestinian refugees caused by its proxy . . . war with Israel. Iran is responsible for the death and destruction — it should be responsible for refugees as well.”
The White House repeatedly refused to say whether it would be open to accepting refugees from the conflict.
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“We continue to provide support to Palestinian refugees through the UN,” a spokesman said. “The United States also has a worldwide refugee resettlement program in partnership with The UN Refugee Agency.”
Mariana Dahan, founder of the World Identity Network (WIN) Foundation, estimated the “conflict . . . may add over 1 million people to the already staggering number of 6 million Palestinian refugees in the world.”
The United States took in 25,465 refugees from around the world in 2022, a 123% increase from 2021, according to State Department records.
Approximately 170,000 Palestinians live in the United States, according to census data.
Squad member Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) is the only Palestinian-American in Congress and currently flies a Palestinian flag outside her House office.
