by President Biden on Wednesday shielded thousands of Palestinians in the United States from deportation over the next 18 months, using an obscure immigration authority as he faces growing criticism over US support for Israel in the Gaza war.
About 6,000 Palestinians are eligible for clemency under a program called Deferred Forced Departure, which allows immigrants whose home countries are in crisis to remain in the United States and work legally.
In a memo obtained by The New York Times, Biden said that “many civilians remain in danger” in Gaza after the October 7 attacks by Hamas.
“Therefore, I am ordering that the expulsion of certain Palestinians who are present in the United States be deferred,” he said.
The decision comes as Biden faces pressure over the war, particularly among Arab Americans who were once a reliable constituency for him. In recent weeks, pro-Palestinian groups have demonstrated outside his campaign sites, chanting “Genocide Joe.”
While Biden’s criticism of the war has become more forceful since the Oct. 7 attack, the United States has given no signs that it plans major policy changes, such as putting conditions on billions of dollars in military aid to Israel.
Israel’s war against Hamas has killed more than 28,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Much of Gaza has been left in ruins as Israel bombs the territory in retaliation for the October 7 attacks, when Hamas killed more than 1,200 people in Israel.
Abed Ayoub, executive director of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee, praised the decision to exempt Palestinians from deportation.
“There is a desperate need for this,” he said. “We see that the situation in Gaza and Palestine is not improving, and this is something that is welcome and we are glad to see it implemented. We hope that other measures can be implemented.”
There are some exemptions to Biden’s order. Palestinians who have been convicted of serious crimes or those “who are otherwise considered to pose a threat to public safety” would not be protected from deportation, Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, said in a statement.
Meanwhile, some Republicans have pushed for a crackdown on the Palestinians. Rep. Ryan Zinke of Montana, a former Trump administration official, introduced legislation in November that would have revoked Palestinians’ visas and prevented them from receiving refugee status or asylum in the United States.
Biden’s decision to protect Palestinians from deportation has been in the works for some time. More than 100 Department of Homeland Security staff members signed an open letter to Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the secretary of Homeland Security, in the fall, saying the agency should extend some protections to Palestinians.
Some congressional Democrats have also called on the administration to find a way to protect Palestinians in the United States.
“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,” they wrote in November in a letter that Senators Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and others signed.
Lawmakers said the population should be covered by Deferred Enforced Departure or a similar program known as Temporary Protected Status, which has been used to help people from Venezuela, Afghanistan, Ukraine and elsewhere. (Deferred enforced departure is currently being used to help people in Hong Kong and Liberia.)
Ahilan Arulanantham, director of the Immigration Law and Policy Center at UCLA School of Law, said the short-term practical effect was the same in both programs.
“Every person who qualifies would have protection from deportation and the ability to obtain employment authorization,” he said.
But he cautioned that long-term differences could be significant. Palestinians could be at greater risk of protections expiring in 18 months because they are at the discretion of the president, Arulanantham said.
Temporary Protected Status, by contrast, requires Department of Homeland Security officials to evaluate protections before they expire.
Earlier this month, Biden ordered financial and travel sanctions on four Israeli settlers accused of violent attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank. While the war is focused on Gaza, there is also growing violence in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967 and is home to more than 2.5 million Palestinians.
