Senate Mulls Measure Banning US Entry of Hamas Members

Photo Credit: US Government

Capitol Hill in Washington DC

The US Senate is considering a measure that would bar anyone with connections to the Hamas terrorist organization from entering the country.

The “No Immigration Benefits for Hamas Terrorists Act” is a bipartisan measure introduced by US Senators Marsha Blackburn ((R-TN) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV).

The bill was introduced last year by US Congressman Tom McClintock (R-CA) in the House of Representatives, where it passed by a vote of 442-2.

“Squad” Congressional members Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Cori Bush (D-MO), who support the Palestinian Authority’s “Boycott, Divest and Sanctions (BDS)” economic war on Israel, both opposed the bill.

The measure prohibits the entry of “any migrant who carried out, participated in, planned, financed, afforded material support to, or otherwise facilitated in any way the attacks perpetrated by Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023, from being admitted to the United States,” and prohibits any such individual from being eligible for any immigration benefits.

Hamas is a US-designated foreign terrorist organization, and its activities and ties are banned under US immigration law. However, this legislation takes the prohibition to a different level by explicitly banning entry to anyone involved in the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, in addition to any representatives, officers, members or spokespersons for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas terrorist organizations.

“Since January 2021, the Biden-Harris administration has released nearly 100 dangerous individuals on the terrorist watchlist into the country, as well as illegal immigrants from U.S. adversaries like Iran,” said Blackburn.

“This common-sense, bipartisan bill would ensure that no migrant tied to Hamas and the horrific terrorist attack on October 7 is allowed to enter our country or receive immigration benefits on the taxpayer dime,” Blackburn emphasized.

“No one who participated in Hamas’s brutal October 7 terrorist attack should be allowed to enter the United States. That’s why I’m helping introduce bipartisan legislation to prohibit Hamas terrorists from being eligible to receive immigration benefits. I’ll always work across the aisle to keep our nation safe,” Rosen added.

Both Blackburn and Rosen have been strong leaders in the fight to support Israel and eliminate Hamas.