Top Senate Democrats on Tuesday reiterated their calls for the Biden-Harris administration to give protected status to Lebanese nationals as fighting between Israel and Hamas intensifies.
Several Democratic committee chairmen co-signed a letter to President Joe Biden asking him to greenlight Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and move forward with Deferred Enforcement Departure (DED) for Lebanese nationals currently living in the United States. Their call follows previous demands by congressional Democrats to allow thousands of Palestinian refugees into the country and national security concerns about immigration from the region.
“On June 5, 2024, we sent the attached letter requesting your administration designate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Lebanon in response to the regional conflict-driven crisis and growing domestic food insecurity, economic collapse, and a stalled Presidential selection process,” the letter began. “In the months since our request, the armed conflict between Hezbollah and Israel has only intensified, claiming the lives of civilians, and worsening the already dire humanitarian emergency.”
“Given these worsening country conditions and the potential for continued crisis, we respectfully reiterate our request for your administration to designate TPS for Lebanon to protect Lebanese nationals currently in the United States,” the letter continued. “We also urge you to swiftly issue the DHS implementation guidance for DED and advance the DED authorization date, to protect Lebanese nationals that recently arrived to the United States.”
The letter was co-signed by Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin, chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, chair of the Homeland Security Committee and Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, chair of the Judiciary Committee.
Israel and Hamas have been at war since the Oct. 7 massacre last year. Fighting in the region has intensified as the Lebanon-based Hezbollah has ratcheted up attacks against Israel, prompting Israeli forces to embark on a ground operation in the country to beat back the terrorist group.
TPS may be designated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to a foreign country that is experiencing conflict or any type of humanitarian disaster, preventing their citizens in the U.S. from returning home safely, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. There are currently 16 countries with unexpired TPS, resulting in roughly 860,000 non-citizens with TPS currently living in the U.S., according to the American Immigration Council.
However, TPS has long been criticized for being temporary-in-name only, with numerous countries having their TPS designation extended again and again throughout the years.
A group of 69 House and Senate Democrats in June had called on Biden and the Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to consider opening pathways for Gaza refugees into the U.S., and White House officials had been reportedlymulling such a decision at the time. Immigration experts who spoke with the Daily Caller News Foundation said a move to bring in Palestinian refugees would pose a serious national security threat, given the ties Gaza citizens have to Hamas, a designated terrorist group.
Recent surveys suggest a vast majority of Lebanese citizens hold extremist views. Roughly 80% of citizens in the country voiced support for the Oct. 7 massacre, according to a poll conducted by a Lebanese newspaper in the days immediately following Hamas’ terrorist attack. A report by the Washington Institute found that 79% of Lebanese citizens have a positive view of Hamas.
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