Ernst leads Senate GOP demanding Biden 'cease planning' Gaza refugee acceptance

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, led Republican senators successful demanding President Biden halt immoderate plans for imaginable U.S. acceptance of Palestinian refugees from Gaza. 

"We request that your medication cease readying for accepting Gazan refugees until you adequately reply our concerns and absorption your attraction alternatively connected securing the merchandise of U.S. hostages held by Hamas," Ernst wrote successful a missive to Biden Wednesday evening. 

The missive was signed by 34 Republican senators, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Minority Whip John Thune of South Dakota, Republican league Chairman John Barrasso of Wyoming and National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman Steve Daines of Montana. 

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Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, led 33 different Republicans successful a missive demanding President Biden cease plans for acceptance of Gaza refugees. (Getty Images)

The correspondence was prompted by a CBS News study that Biden's medication is considering allowing immoderate Palestinian refugees from Gaza into the U.S. arsenic refugees. 

According to the report, officials successful respective agencies successful the Biden medication person been discussing implicit the people of weeks a fig of imaginable plans to resettle immoderate Palestinians successful Gaza who person household that are either citizens of the U.S. oregon are imperishable residents successful the country. 

The White House did not straight corroborate the CBS study erstwhile prompted by Fox News Digital. 

"Since the opening of the conflict, the United States has helped much than 1,800 American citizens and their families permission Gaza, galore of whom person travel to the United States. At President Biden’s direction, we person besides helped, and volition proceed to help, immoderate peculiarly susceptible individuals, specified arsenic children with superior wellness problems and children who were receiving attraction for cancer, get retired of harm’s mode and person attraction astatine adjacent hospitals successful the region," a White House spokesperson told Fox News Digital successful a statement.

"The United States besides continues to beryllium the largest contributor of humanitarian assistance to Gaza to code the dire conditions, and we are pressing hard to get much urgently-needed assistance successful to much radical arsenic soon arsenic possible," the spokesperson continued. "We person besides been wide and consistent: the United States categorically rejects immoderate actions starring to the forced relocation of Palestinians from Gaza oregon the West Bank oregon the redrawing of the borders of Gaza. The champion way guardant is to execute a sustainable cease-fire done a hostage woody that volition stabilize the concern and pave the mode to a two-state solution."

White House property caput Karine Jean-Pierre did not code a reporter's questions Wednesday regarding the fig of Palestinians the medication plans to relocate and whether the U.S. would assistance to physically transport them from Gaza. 

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Ernst's missive was signed by 33 GOP senators, including the party's leaders — Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Minority Whip John Thune and league Chairman John Barrasso.  (Getty Images)

Fox News confirmed with a State Department authoritative that if visas were granted to Gaza refugees who person U.S. national relatives, it wouldn't beryllium done immoderate "new program" oregon magnitude to a displacement successful policy. The authoritative further confirmed specified a determination would beryllium fundamentally an hold of existing argumentation toward Palestinians successful the region.

The Republican senators elaborate that they "are not confident" successful the Biden administration's quality to "adequately vet this high-risk colonisation for violent ties and sympathies earlier admitting them into the United States." 

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This comes arsenic anti-Israel protests person taken spot astatine 47 of the nation's apical 50 universities, arsenic ranked successful 2024 by U.S. News and World Report, successful the past 2 weeks. At the aforesaid time, respective protests person featured antisemitic intimidation and vandalism, immoderate evolving into riots. 

In New York, approximately 300 radical were arrested betwixt April 30 and May 1 astatine Columbia University, wherever a gathering was taken implicit by demonstrators, and City College. 

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and different Republicans slammed President Biden for what they alleged was amended attraction for anti-Israel rioters than U.S. state Israel.  (Getty Images)

The lawmakers pointed to the "little access" that the U.S. and allies person to Gazans successful the region, "making it astir intolerable to behaviour thorough vetting earlier admitting them into our country."

The value of a thorough vetting process is heightened, according to the senators, "given the information that the Gazans were the ones who voted Hamas into powerfulness successful 2006."

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Ernst and her GOP colleagues added that the substance of admitting terrorists into the state isn't a "hypothetical matter," noting that successful fiscal twelvemonth 2023 alone, 169 individuals connected the FBI's terror ticker lists were encountered astatine the U.S. confederate borderline betwixt ports of entry.

Republicans cited individuals connected the panic ticker database who were apprehended astatine the confederate borderline past year.  (James Breeden for New York Post/Mega)

"Our archetypal work should beryllium to rescue our ain citizens, not Gazans," the senators said, reiterating their petition that Biden absorption connected American hostages. 

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They further prompted Biden to reply however galore refugees helium hopes to judge and however his medication would "implement a screening mechanism" to warrant that "those with violent links oregon sympathies are not accepted arsenic refugees into the United States."

The State Department did not supply contiguous remark to Fox News Digital regarding the study oregon the GOP senators' demand. 

Fox News' Gillian Turner contributed to this report.