Biden could welcome Palestinians with refugee program, inside track on U.S. citizenship

President Biden is pondering a move to allow Palestinians into the U.S. through the refugee program, according to a news report.

CBS News said it obtained documents showing senior officials from across the government discussing ideas about how to help the Arab group.

One option would be to use the refugee program to welcome those with U.S. ties who have made it out of Gaza, where Israel is waging a war against the Hamas terrorist organization that controls the territory.

Refugee status would confer lasting protection and give the Palestinians an inside track on getting U.S. citizenship.

The president is under pressure from part of his political base to ease humanitarian suffering in Gaza, from where Palestinians launched their slaughter of Israelis on Oct. 7.

Mr. Biden in February granted a tentative deportation amnesty to Palestinians who were already in the U.S. Known as Deferred Enforced Departure, it grants an 18-month stay of deportation for any qualified Palestinian who would otherwise be out of status.

Refugee status would apply to those outside the U.S. and would be a more permanent protection.

The Biden administration has used the immigration system as a safety valve for hot spots around the world, welcoming people who lack legal visas but who the president says should be admitted anyway.

That includes creating parole programs to allow entry by Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s war and to facilitate the airlift that brought tens of thousands of Afghans out of Kabul as that country’s government collapsed in 2021. It also includes parole programs for citizens of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

The White House, in a statement to CBS, said the U.S. has already helped more than 1,800 American citizens and relatives who were in Gaza flee, and many of them have reached the U.S.