Biden Issues Memorandum Protecting Palestinians from Deportation

President Joe Biden issued a memorandum to Secretary of State Antony Blinken protecting Palestinians from deportation.

“Following the horrific October 7, 2023, terrorist attack by Hamas against Israel, and Israel’s ensuing military response, humanitarian conditions in the Palestinian territories, and primarily Gaza, have significantly deteriorated,” the memo reads. “While I remain focused on improving the humanitarian situation, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Palestinians who are present in the United States.”

Biden declared that is the “foreign policy interest of the United States” to defer Palestinians’ deportation.

“Pursuant to my constitutional authority to conduct the foreign relations of the United States, I have determined that it is in the foreign policy interest of the United States to defer for 18 months the removal of any Palestinian subject to the conditions and exceptions provided below.”

Palestinian individuals who have “voluntarily returned to the Palestinian territories after the date of this memorandum,” “not continuously resided in the United States since the date of this memorandum,” been convicted of “any felony or two or more misdemeanors committed in the United States,” “subject to extradition,” and whose presence in the U.S. is not in the “interest of the United States or presents a danger to public safety,” or may pose “serious adverse foreign policy consequences” are excluded.

The memo also calls for the Secretary of Homeland Security to offer opportunities for employment to deferred individuals.

“I further direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to take appropriate measures to authorize employment for noncitizens whose removal has been deferred, as provided by this memorandum, for the duration of such deferral, and to consider suspending regulatory requirements with respect to F-1 nonimmigrant students who are Palestinians as the Secretary of Homeland Security determines to be appropriate,” the memo states.

Job opportunities for foreign-born workers have drastically increased in the last year.

“In just the last year, a net 193k native-born workers lost their jobs, while a net 1.2 million foreign-born workers gained jobs (important to use Y/Y comparisons w/ these datasets b/c they’re not seasonally adjusted),” wrote E.J. Antoni, Ph.D.