At an antisemitism summit held by the Israeli American Council on September 19, 2024, former President Donald Trump promised to bring back a travel ban that prohibited people from Muslim-majority countries and broaden it to bar refugees from the Gaza Strip from entering the United States.
Over the last year, the Gaza Strip has been subjected to a punitive military campaign by the Israeli military after Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The displacement brought about by this conflict has brought forth various debates about what should be done with the Palestinian refugees.
“I will ban refugee resettlement from terror infested areas like the Gaza Strip, and we will seal our border and bring back the travel ban,” Trump stated.
“Remember the famous travel ban? We didn’t take people from certain areas of the world,” Trump continued. “We’re not taking them from infested countries.”
During his presidency, Trump implemented a travel ban a week after assuming the presidency on countries such as Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudia, Syria, and Yemen. This provoked major protests from pro-mass migration groups. Eventually, federal judges blocked the initial prohibition but modifications to the policy eventually propelled the US Supreme Court to uphold it.
Trump has the right instincts. The US is already swamped with too many migrants. The country has nearly 50 million foreign-born individuals within its borders — a historical record. On top of that, by bringing in disgruntled Palestinians, the US runs the risk of being a host to a massive terrorist attack in response to its constant deployment of military aid to Israel and use of diplomatic cover in defending its most controversial geopolitical actions. This is just asking for blowback.
Moreover, by importing Palestinians, the US would indirectly be advancing the Zionist agenda of ethnically cleansing Israel of Palestinians. Members of the Israeli Parliament (Knesset) Danny Danon and Ram Ben-Barak recently authored an article at the Wall Street Journal pushing for the Collective West to resettle Palestinian migrants in
Trump needs to stick to his guns here and reject all resettlement plans. More importantly, Trump should give the Israel First lobby the cold shoulder by rejecting all calls for the US to insert itself in the Israel-Hamas conflict or a war with Iran.