Only two House lawmakers on Wednesday voted against a measure seeking to ban Hamas terrorists involved in last October’s attack on Israel from ever entering the US – Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Cori Bush (D-Mo.).
The No Immigration Benefits for Hamas Terrorists Act, introduced by Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.), would deem any members of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Palestine Liberation Organization or other individuals who participated in or facilitated the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on the Jewish state ineligible to enter the US, even if seeking asylum.
The bill passed the lower chamber in a 422-2 vote, with Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill) voting present and six members not voting.
Tlaib, an outspoken critic of Israel’s war against Hamas and the Biden administration’s support for it, argued that the bill is “redundant” and will be used by Republicans to “incite” hate.
“H.R. 6679 is unnecessary because it is redundant with already existing federal law,” the Michigan Democrat said in a statement. “It’s just another GOP messaging bill being used to incite anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian, and anti-Muslim hatred that makes communities like ours unsafe.”
Bush, who like Tlaib is a member of the far-left “Squad” of congressional Democrats, echoed her colleague’s opposition to McClintock’s bill.
“I opposed H.R. 6679 because it is a redundant, empty messaging bill Republicans are using to target immigrants and incite anti-Palestinian hate,” she said in a tweet. “Republicans have ZERO credibility on these issues.”
Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have both been designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations by the State Department since October 1997, as such, their members are already barred from entering the US.
However, H.R. 6679 expands the ban to members of the Palestine Liberation Organization and anyone involved in the Oct. 7 attack that is not a member of a terror group.
“It is imperative that Congress ensures that these bad actors will find no refuge in the United States,” McClintock said in a statement after the passage of H.R. 6679, which now heads to the Senate.