A group of Democratic lawmakers urged U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday to permit Palestinian visitors, students, and workers to stay in the country, Reuters reported. More than a hundred Democrats, led by U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, wrote to Biden pleading him to provide Palestinians with work permits through U.S. programs, as well as deportation relief. "In light of the ongoing armed conflict, Palestinians already in the United States should not be forced to return to the Palestinian territories, consistent with President Biden's stated commitment to protecting Palestinian civilians," the lawmakers wrote. Only Palestinians who are currently in the United States would be eligible for the humanitarian protections. Refugees from other nations or those living in a war zone would not. The number of Palestinian Americans who would be covered was unclear. According to U.N. estimates, the fighting has internally displaced about two-thirds of Gaza's 2.3 million people. The lawmakers urged Biden to grant the relief through the Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) or Temporary Protected Status (TPS) programmes. Since taking office in 2021, Biden has granted TPS to hundreds of thousands of individuals, including Haitians and Venezuelans. A request for comment was not immediately answered by the White House. Democrats are putting pressure on Biden at this time because a few Republican contenders for president, including the former president Donald Trump, have supported imposing immigration restrictions on individuals who originate in Gaza. Representative Ryan Zinke, a Republican, and ten other Republicans introduced a bill last week that would prevent entry for anyone with a passport issued by the Palestinian Authority. A governing body established under the Oslo Interim Peace Accords thirty years ago and forcibly removed Palestinians from the United States on security grounds. The bill was criticized by some Democrats, civil rights activists, and immigration advocates; Democratic Representative Bill Pascrell described it as "absolutely despicable."
