Summary
- U.S. pauses visitor visas for Gaza residents.
- Review underway on medical-humanitarian visa issuance.
- Process and procedures scrutinized by the State
Department.
- Affects a small number of temporary visa applicants.
- Visa pause aims to ensure proper vetting.
The stoppage, according to right-wing activist Laura Loomer on X, was a reaction to her revelation that "unvetted Palestinians" were coming to the US. The State Department did not, however, provide an explanation for its decision to carry out the review.
Outside of regular business hours on Saturday,
Newsweek submitted a form to the State Department.
The situation in Gaza has seen a number of noteworthy and swift developments in the past month
as a famine has engulfed the enclave, garnering widespread international
attention and changing public opinion on Israel's operations following Hamas'
surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and Israel's military response.
After President Donald Trump won the
presidential election last year and took office again, Loomer became
well-known. She is regarded as a powerful personality in right-wing circles and
has been one of the most vocal pro-Trump advocates in the political and media
arenas.
Although officials denied she had any influence,
Loomer was occasionally present with Trump during his 2024 campaign and has
been linked to his decision to fire national security adviser Mike Waltz.
On X on Saturday morning, the State Department wrote:
"All visitor visas for individuals from Gaza are being stopped while we conduct a full and thorough review of the process and procedures used to issue a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas in recent days."
With Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealing
earlier this year plans to more aggressively revoke and inspect student visas
from China, presumably in response to college institution failures, visitor visas
have remained a difficult topic for the second Trump administration.
The notification said that the State Department
would handle urgent medical travel during the assessment, but it did not say
how many visas were affected, how long the review would take, or whether
pending appointments or already-issued visas would be canceled or restarted.
The government announced its pause
"following the release of my reports yesterday exposing flights of GAZANS
arriving at airports all across the U.S." Loomer on X, meanwhile, claimed
credit for triggering the review.
Loomer attacked Heal Palestine, a nonprofit
organization established in 2024 with the mission to "deliver urgent
relief and long-term support to Palestinian children and families,"
according to the organization's website, in her first posts on X on Friday.
Right-wing activist Laura Loomer on Saturday wrote on X:
"There are doctors in other countries. It's incredible isn't it how Qatar and Saudi Arabia rolled out the camels, Red and purple carpets and the most luxurious gifts and decorations for President Trump and his staff in the Middle East."
"If the Arabs have money to get flashy with Trump, they have money to buy some prosthetics for GAZANS or import them to their own hospitals and luxurious towns. They constantly brag about how rich they are. They want to shame the West into accepting more Muslim invaders. They think their bribes and flashy bling will make the West turn a blind eye. The Arabs need to pay up or just put their money where their mouth is and take these GAZANS they want to force on the West."
How might this visa suspension impact humanitarian efforts in Gaza?
The suspension halts issuance of
"medical-humanitarian" visas that allowed critically ill and injured
Gazans, including children, to travel to the U.S. for lifesaving medical care.
This restricts access to treatment unavailable within Gaza’s overwhelmed health
system.
Though this suspension specifically concerns
visitor visas, similar visa restrictions or delays have historically affected
NGO workers entering the region, impeding delivery and coordination of aid.
The suspension limits Gazans' ability to visit
family or connect with diaspora communities that support humanitarian advocacy,
funding, and awareness initiatives, further isolating the population.