As Israel entered its fourth week in its war against Hamas terrorists, Republicans are shifting their focus away from the southern border and aiming to stop anti-Israel foreign nationals from getting into the United States.
Amid the uptick in potential terrorist-linked illegal aliens at the southern border, Republicans are concerned Hamas sympathizers will be allowed to enter the U.S. due to President Joe Biden’s open border policies.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO.) wrote a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas urging him to “abandon your radical open border policies, and instead, take immediate action to secure the border.”
The FBI has already alerted Americans about the increase in the number of violent threats from anti-semitic groups.
Other GOP members have called for the U.S. not to accept refugees from Gaza.
Reps. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) and Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) introduced legislation that would block people escaping Gaza from being permitted to enter the U.S. as a refugee, as former President Trump also declared that he would not allow anyone from Gaza into the country under his watch.
In addition, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) vowed to revoke student visas of Hamas sympathizers if elected as president in 2024.
“I don’t care what some imbeciles on a college campus say… I don’t care what liars in the media say. I don’t care what reprobates at the United Nations say,” DeSantis said on Saturday. “We stand with Israel! The United States will have their back!”
The governor acknowledged that while not all people from Gaza are Hamas terrorists, they all are still anti-semitic.
According to reports for the terror watchlist for fiscal year 2023 from Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), there have been at least 154 encounters at the northern and southern borders among ports of entry and 505 encountered at the ports of entry.