The Biden administration is mulling bringing certain Palestinians from Gaza to the United States as refugees, according to internal government documents obtained by CBS News.
Senior officials across several federal agencies have in recent weeks discussed the feasibility of different options to resettle Palestinians from the war-torn region who have immediate family members who are permanent U.S. residents or American citizens, the documents show.
Under one of the proposals, the United States Refugee Admissions Program would be used to admit Palestinians with U.S. ties who have escaped Gaza and managed to enter neighboring Egypt.
The inter-agency planning documents show that top U.S. officials have also floated the idea of admitting additional Palestinians as refugees if they have American relatives.
Palestinians who meet eligibility requirements and pass medical and security screenings would qualify to enter the U.S. with refugee status, which offers permanent residency and resettlement benefits like housing assistance and a path to citizenship.
Israel launched a bombardment of Gaza and a ground offensive after Hamas carried out a brutal unprovoked attack on the Jewish state on Oct. 7, killing approximately 1,200 people. Hamas militants also abducted more than 200 people, many of whom remain captive in Gaza.
The plans to resettle certain Palestinians as refugees would be a departure from established U.S. government policy and practice. Since its establishment 44 years ago, the U.S. refugee program has not relocated large numbers of Palestinians.
Fewer than 600 of the more than 400,000 refugees the U.S. has resettled in the past 10 years were Palestinian. According to State Department statistics, 56 Palestinians were admitted to the U.S. in fiscal year 2023, which is 0.09% of the more than 60,000 refugees admitted in those 12 months.
While the White House would likely find support for the move among congressional Democrats, bringing Palestinians over as refugees could create more political headwinds for the Biden administration, which is struggling to maintain support within a fractured Democratic Party over its support of Israel.
Newsmax has reached out to the White House, Department of Homeland Security, and State Department for comment.