Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended his move to immediately halt all visitor visas for Gazans and vowed a complete reevaluation of the process, which he claimed is rife with ties to Hamas.
The State Department announced the immediate halt of all visitor visas for Gazans on Saturday while it conducts a “full and thorough review” of the process. The visas, which are temporary, were previously issued to a “small number” of Gazans for medical treatment in the United States.
In his justification of the decision, Rubio pointed to evidence from “multiple” congressional offices that the various groups that facilitate the Gazans’ evacuation from the war-torn strip have “strong links” to Hamas, the terrorist group that controls the region.
“We are not going to be in partnership with groups that are friendly with Hamas. So we need to — we’re going to pause those visas,” he said on CBS News’s Face the Nation on Sunday.
Rubio also expressed concern about adults who accompany the injured children into the U.S., suggesting there needs to be a stronger vetting process.
“We’re going to reevaluate how those visas are being granted, not just to the children, but how those visas are being granted to the people who are accompanying them,” he said.
Despite Rubio’s credit to congressional offices that made him aware of the visitor visa process, the decision to pause it was seemingly sparked by Laura Loomer, who reported last week on multiple flights carrying Palestinians arriving in airports in San Francisco and Houston, which she deemed a “national security threat.”
She reposted footage from one group that facilitates evacuations from the strip, HEAL Palestine, that shows multiple Gazan children traveling through a U.S. airport accompanied by both men and women, who the group said are caregivers.
Multiple members of Congress later echoed her concerns, including Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX) and Randy Fine (R-FL).
STATE DEPARTMENT PAUSES ALL VISITOR VISAS FOR GAZANS
Loomer also took a victory lap after the pause was announced, thanking Rubio for his “prompt response to this invasion of our country by NGOS that have been accused of being pro-HAMAS.”
Fine later praised Loomer for her reporting, saying she deserves “massive credit” for “uncovering this and making me and other officials aware.”
