The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee ripped GOP uproar over reports the Biden administration is considering admitting Gazan refugees into the US.
Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) dinged Republicans in Congress making a fuss about the possibility and underscored the rigorous vetting processes in place for refugees.
“What I can tell you is that this is not a thing,” Himes told “Fox News Sunday” when asked if he was confident that people coming from Gaza will be appropriately vetted. “The only way that people can apply for refugee status is if they … begin a very lengthy process of vetting,” the rep said, flatly dismissing concerns expressed by some lawmakers on the other side of the aisle.
“A number of Republican senators and over-caffeinated Florida senators may want to be selling an awful lot of fear right now, I would challenge you to come up with examples where refugees who have been vetted have come to this country and committed acts of terrorism.”
The “over-caffeinated Florida senators” jab was likely directed at Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who appeared on “Fox News Sunday” ahead of Himes.
Last week, CBS News reported that top administration officials have been looking into different pathways to accept a small number of Gazans with family in the US — including some who fled the Palestinian enclave into Egypt to escape the fighting.
Asked about the report at a press briefing last week, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “We just don’t have anything to announce at this time.”
Another spokesperson for the White House declined to confirm or deny the report when asked by The Post.
The State Department’s Refugee Admissions Program has accepted just 16 Palestinians into the US since Oct. 1, 2023, according to data as of March 31.
“While we will continue to admit refugees from around the world, as is our international legal obligation, it is a very strong vetting process,” Himes reiterated.
Vetting typically screens for factors such as security red flags, medial history, eligibility, and more.
Aspiring refugees would also likely have to provide evidence that they are fleeing some form of persecution, political persecution in particular.
It may be tricky for Gazans to claim they are trying to escape persecution from Israel, given that the Jewish state is a key US ally in the region.
Last week, Rubio and over 30 other Republican senators penned a letter to President Biden demanding answers about possible plans to admit Palestinian refugees.
“Unfortunately, the risk of terrorists entering our homeland is no hypothetical matter,” they wrote. “We are also concerned that any U.S. refugee plan may exacerbate the tense situation at the Gaza-Egypt border.”
Both Himes and Rubio, ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, are members of the so-called “Gang of Eight” in Congress who receive high-level classified briefings.
Himes slammed Rubio for painting leading Democrats as “radical extremists” over their lack of clarity on where they would draw the line on abortion, especially during the later stages of pregnancy.
“I’m not quite sure if Marco just had too much coffee this morning. But, you know, the notion that we’re extremists on this topic is just madness,” Himes responded.
“Democrats are generally where the American people are, which is where the world was before the Dobbs decision that until the point of viability, this is a decision to be made between a woman and her doctor.”
Medical viability for a fetus is generally pegged somewhere around 24 weeks of gestation.
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